The Adversities Saga 3 Other Side of the Mirror
by kasviel
Summary: SLASH COMPLTETE The third installment of the Adversities Saga.
1. Prologue

The Other Side of the Mirror  
  
Author's Notes: Gryffindor! Yes! I spelled it correctly! Oh, is this supposed to be the introduction? *ahem* Sorry about that, just letting you know I finally fixed my spelling of Harry's House. Another sequel beginning, I couldn't be more pleased. I've gotten nice reviews from FanFiction.net and a few Mailing Lists on Yahoo as well. Thank you, everyone, compliments really keep a writer motivated, you know. So! Is everyone ready for Draco and Harry to take the next step in their relationship? I know I am. Will they in this story? Well, you'll have to wait and see. I might also delve into the complex mind of Snape as well (I do so love him, seriously!). Well, enough from me now. Enjoy this!  
  
*  
  
Prologue: Having Fun  
  
The end of Harry and Draco's sixth year was nearing now, and Hogwarts' was a blur of anticipation and excitement. Those in their last year were nervous and ecstatic to be leaving Hogwarts', and everyone was studying hard for upcoming tests. The school hung between joy and anxiety, and everyone was sweeping around the halls with a quicker pace than usual. Of course, tests were not the only thing that spring was bringing with it. In dark corners and small, seemingly deserted halls and rooms one could hear stolen moments of romance if they passed by. Love was in the air, as thick as the spring rains. For some, like Ron and Hermione, it meant joyful sneaking around and lovers' quarrels at times. For others, like Harry and Draco, it meant being rather ignored by close friends. Ron and Hermione were spending more and more time alone together, though they tried their best not to ignore Harry. As for Draco, well, even Crabbe and Goyle had girlfriends (amazing, isn't it?). The two began to realize that all they had...was each other.  
  
Harry was a little depressed over the fact that Ron and Hermione were together now, despite their constant protests at being called a 'couple'. Oh, he tried his best to be happy for them, but it was a little discouraging. Draco, on the other hand, was thrilled that everyone was too busy to deal with Harry and himself. It meant more stolen moments alone, more necking in secret. Besides, no one was even paying attention to the fact that Draco hadn't picked on Harry as much as usual. And, as of yet, they hadn't been caught. As Harry slipped into a state of mild depression, Draco's mood grew happier and happier. These days, he was almost giddy 24/7.  
  
Today, Harry and Draco had sneaked into the tunnel behind the statue of the one-eyed witch. Draco was his usual, eager self. Harry just sat slumped against the wall as the pale-faced boy buried his face in his neck. He winced a little at every kiss. Draco pretended not to notice for a while, then couldn't take it anymore.  
  
"Honestly, Harry," he said breathlessly, "what is the matter with you today? You're so listless." To prove this, Draco lifted Harry's hand and dropped it. It flopped lifelessly to the ground. "You see!"  
  
Harry just looked at him. Draco's light silver eyes were searching his own green ones, and there was actual concern in them. Draco's pointy little face leaned in closer to Harry's, and he pressed his thin lips to Harry's. Harry didn't reply. He was still pondering how his life had gone so wrong.  
  
"Harry, snap out of it!" Draco snapped, lightly slapping the side of Harry's face. "We never get a chance to be alone like this, let's enjoy it, okay? Stop sulking!"  
  
Harry smiled wearily at handsome Draco. He was cute, he'd grown up very nicely. It was hard not to notice his sharp, shark-like good looks, even when he was angry at him. Without his ugly scowl of past years, he looked very much like a male veela. Harry slid a hand into Draco's fine platinum hair and pulled him close. Draco looked slightly bewildered.  
  
"Draco Malfoy," Harry sighed, "you're so annoying. How did this happen, eh?"  
  
"FORGET HOW IT HAPPENED!" Draco roared suddenly, pulling out of Harry's embrace. He stood up, robes swishing around his thin body, and stared down at Harry angrily. "You've been angsting over this FOR AGES! FORGET how it happened and DEAL WITH IT!"  
  
Harry was not impressed. "You're lonely, aren't you?"  
  
Draco knelt before Harry and put a hand on Harry's cheek. "It's springtime, Harry!" he said, his tone pleading. "I want to have fun!"  
  
Harry felt a little sorry for him. He kissed Draco gently. "Okay, okay," he said. "I'll stop trying to figure out how to change things. You're right...our reality can't change, can it?"  
  
"No, it can't," Draco replied quickly. He kissed Harry's neck in a vampire-like fashion.  
  
Harry kissed him back. These days, it was harder and harder to stay angry at Draco or avoid him. Spring did have a warming effect on the blood, Harry noticed. Draco was now on top of him, and tearing his cloak open. Harry glanced at the Marauders Map. He pushed Draco away.  
  
"We have to go," he said breathlessly. "Snape is coming."  
  
"So?" Draco asked lazily. "He doesn't know about this tunnel...does he?"  
  
"He does!" Harry exclaimed as he stood up in a rush. He got his robes together and straightened his Gryffindor scarf. "He'll catch us if we don't get out of here! Come on."  
  
The two slipped out of the tunnel just in time. Moments after the secret passage closed, Professor Snape swept into the hall, in all his black robes. His beady black eyes swept from Harry to Draco and back again. His lips curled into a sneer.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter," he greeted them cynically, "what an unusual, yet oddly reoccurring, pair. Draco Malfoy, may I remind you that no good can come of pairing up with...Potter," Snape said the name as if it were the most unspeakable word in the universe.  
  
"Yes sir," Draco said, lowering his gaze.  
  
Snape noticed that Draco did not use the opportunity to badmouth Harry, as he usually would have. Snape's eyes narrowed to evil slits. However, he only left them, mumbling to himself, "That cursed mirror...I know the damage it can do...I saw it firsthand...The Potters, always screwing with peoples minds..."  
  
Back in the school, Draco's hostility towards Harry slowly began to return.  
  
"Well!" he said haughtily, "Professor Snape is right. We cannot be seen together from now on. Besides, my presence is seriously flawed by you being beside me. Good day, Potter."  
  
With that, Draco turned on his heel and flew down the hall. Harry shook his head. Malfoy was all talk, but his talk was annoying.  
  
End of Prologue 


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One: The Next Step  
  
"Hermione, have we been ignoring Harry?"  
  
Draco and Harry weren't the only ones sneaking around. Ron and Hermione were locked inside an empty classroom during some free time on Saturday. After years of bickering and tears, here they were, Hermione sitting on Ron's lap and Ron running a hand through her fluffy brown hair.  
  
"Ignoring Harry?" Hermione paused to think for a brief second. "Hm. Yes, yes, I think we are. Oh, it's not on purpose, of course, but we have been paying more attention to each other than to him lately. I feel horrible about it, but it is awfully hard to divide the little free time I have between you and Harry."  
  
"Yeah..." Ron leaned back in his chair lazily. "But Harry seems busy enough himself. Where d'you suppose he keeps sneaking off to?"  
  
"I don't know," Hermione said.  
  
"Huh. You mean there's actually something you don't know?" Ron asked in amusement.  
  
"Oh, Ron!" Hermione punched his shoulder. "Try and be serious, would you? Harry has been acting oddly lately, hasn't he? Then again, Harry is always up to something, isn't he? Only, he usually brings you along for the ride. Isn't that right, Ron?"  
  
"Yeah...I feel a little left out."  
  
"And I do wonder why he's been lingering around that dreadful Malfoy lately?" Hermione went on. "Ever since Christmas, something fishy has been going on. Harry became distant around that time, and barely talked to us. Malfoy also started saying strange things to him around that time, and I mean stranger than usual. Ever since Christmas, Malfoy's words have seemed to have double meaning to them. Even creepier, Professor Snape has been muttering strange things to himself lately as well. Every time he sees Harry or Draco, he says things about mirrors and duality and such." Hermione gave her head a short, precise shake. "It's all very unnerving."  
  
"Well, whatever Harry and Snape and Malfoy are up to, I'm sure Malfoy and Snape will get the worst of it," Ron assured her. "If there's one thing we know by now, it's that Harry always gets the best of them."  
  
"True. Quite true."  
  
*  
  
A few nights later, Harry was in his room alone. It was not uncommon for him to wind up alone in his room, since everyone was in their sixth year and sneaking around to visit girlfriends and such. Harry himself never snuck out. He and Draco were separated by their Houses, Gryffindor and Slytherin.  
  
Harry wondered if his father had ever looked into the Mirror of Adversities. Snape had never mentioned James Potter knowing about it, he only spoke of his own 'horrible' experiences with it. Harry thought about it. If in reality, James Potter had hated Severus Snape, then had they been best friends in the world of the Mirror? Best friends...or...more?  
  
Harry shook his head. The thought was too disgusting to fathom. His own love for Draco Malfoy was bad enough. At least Draco was cute.  
  
As he lay awake in bed, staring at the blurred ceiling (his glasses weren't on) Harry thought about Draco. Over the years, the two had done so much to anger each other. The competition had always been thick enough to feel when they were together. And here they were in love. It did feel good, thought, Harry thought. It felt so good to hold him, to argue with him. It was no longer annoying, more...erotic...Their arguments sent sparks flying, passionate sparks. It was the oddest love/hate relationship ever.  
  
"Potter...Harry...Harry..."  
  
The voice was low and deep. Harry sat up like a bullet and looked around. There was nothing and no one there. Chills ran up his spine. "Who said that?"  
  
"Potter...Why...Why didn't you join Slytherin?"  
  
Harry stiffened. "Who are you!" he cried, trying not to sound scared. The room was dark and empty, but the voice went on. It sounded closer now.  
  
"Potter...You and Draco were meant to be together..."  
  
There was a break in the voice now, and it sounded younger for a moment. Harry frowned deeply. "Who...are you?"  
  
"P-Potter...why...why...Why did...you...ha...ha, ha, ha, ha!"  
  
It was Draco's laugh. Perplexed, Harry looked around. "Malfoy, come out!"  
  
Malfoy appeared out of nowhere, with the swishing of material. Harry stared blankly. Draco was laughing so hard that he was almost crying. He pointed his wand at the lights and lit them. Then, he collapsed into laughter on Harry's bed. He was clutching something silvery in his hand.  
  
"My Invisibility Cloak?" Harry asked in anger. "You stole my Invisibility Cloak?"  
  
Draco folded the cloak and tucked it under his arm, making half his side invisible. "Come off it, Potter," he said. "Did you think you were the only one with an Invisibility Cloak?"  
  
Harry found his own cloak under his bed. Draco did have his own. He turned to Draco. "Well, how did you get the Gryffindor password?"  
  
Draco was still chuckling a little. "Heh. I have my resources," he said vaguely. "My, you should have seen the look on your face! Hilarious! Ha, ha, ha! You were so scared!"  
  
Harry frowned. "I didn't think it was so funny."  
  
"Well, I wouldn't expect you to now, would I?" Draco said, bursting into laughter again. "I wish I'd had brought a camera!" He put on the fake, deep voice again. "Potter....Why...Why didn't you join Slytherin?" He cracked up again.  
  
Harry crossed his arms after putting on his glasses. There were times when he felt like hitting Draco, straight across his veela-like face. But he refrained. "What do you want, Malfoy?"  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked. He knelt on the bed before Harry, crawling towards him like a ghostly animal. There was a hungry look on his pointy face. "You're obviously alone, the night just began...and now I'm here."  
  
Harry backed away, crawling backwards on the bed a little. There was only one thing Draco could want. "M-Malfoy...slow down," he stammered, turning red. "You can't mean that you want to...?"  
  
"Oh yes, that is exactly what I mean," Draco said, licking his pale lips. His silver eyes glimmered in a shade very close to his hair. "I've been wanting this, and so have you. Don't bother denying it, Potter."  
  
Draco was on top of Harry now. He brought his lips to Harry's, pressing them together rather innocently. Then, he kissed Harry again, a much naughtier kiss than before. He gripped the back of Harry's hair and forced him closer, his kiss growing hard and firm. Harry squirmed, but couldn't (and didn't want to) get away. The two collapsed against the bed, and Harry eventually overcame Draco. He sat on top of his old rival, staring down at him. Indeed, spring had brought a hot-blooded urge to go a step further in their relationship. But it wasn't right, was it? It felt right, but it also felt...wrong. In every aspect imaginable, it was wrong. But then...why did it feel so damn good?  
  
"Draco..." Harry said slowly, "I don't know if we should. It's...wrong..."  
  
"Oh, it doesn't mean anything!" Draco snapped. "We'll still grow up and get married and all, kids and the whole bit. This is just...an experiment."  
  
"The last time you said that, we kissed for the first time," Harry said flatly.  
  
Draco grinned. "So, let's do something else a first time," he said slyly. "Something...a bit more..." Draco leaned his face up and licked Harry's neck like a pointy-faced little demon. "You do taste good, Harry..."  
  
Harry held Draco down firmly. "Stop that. Cut it out."  
  
"Have you ever wondered...what it's like for wizards and witches?" Draco asked. "You're always one to study the difference between the magical and the Muggle worlds. Have you ever wondered what love-making is like...for those who possess the gift of magic?"  
  
Harry froze. He had never thought about that before. He turned deep red.  
  
"Naive as always, I see," Draco observed. He slid his arm out of Harry's grasp and around Harry's neck, like a snake encircling its prey. "Think about it. We could conjure up any accessory we may desire...I could make you taste like anything I wanted with a simple charm...Don't you want to explore all aspects of wizardry, Harry? Aren't you curious?"  
  
"I...I am," Harry admitted. "But it is...still...wrong..." He got off of Draco and sat beside him. "I'm not sure about this. It's all so...sudden."  
  
"It's not like we're to be married, Potter," Draco drawled lazily. He sat up slowly, his platinum hair hanging in a lanky, silky way from his fair face. "If you truly hate yourself in the morning, I'll give you a Memory Charm."  
  
Harry shuddered. "No thanks."  
  
Draco turned his face and looked at Harry. It was hard to remain calm and collected when his snow white skin was secretly burning with passion. He suddenly pounced on Harry, knocking them both off the bed. Draco landed atop Harry on the floor. All his silvery blond hair spilled over his face, giving him a roguish appearance. An evil, wild grin spread over his lips.  
  
"I'm through debating it with you, Potter," he said, voice lined with fire. "Either give in to me or kill me."  
  
Draco attacked Harry's face and neck with sloppy, wet kisses. Harry didn't stop him. In moments, Draco had ripped off Harry's cloak and his own. Harry felt a competitive streak. He overturned Draco and was now on top of him. Draco grinned, pleased. The two launched into a fiery, fierce kissing match. Draco's hand reached for Harry's belt buckle, and...  
  
Suddenly, the two boys heard a scuffle of feet in the hall outside the room. Harry scurried into his bed, and Draco lunged under his Invisibility Cloak. But no one came into the room. Draco moved near the door and pressed his ear to it. Voices could be heard outside. He listened for a few moments, then scowled.  
  
"It's just a couple of passing students," he called to Harry, swinging off the Invisibility Cloak. "Stupid sneaky Gryffindors..."  
  
"Look who's talking," Harry retorted, trying to calm his beating heart. He ran a hand through his hair, further mussing it. "I knew this was a bad idea."  
  
"Oh...pah." Draco stood up. "We're just in the wrong place, that's all. Come on, come with me. We can share my cloak."  
  
"Go?" asked a bewildered Harry. "Go where?"  
  
"Just come!"  
  
Harry knew he shouldn't. He knew this...but he went anyway. Draco's cold, thin hand grasped his own, and he was dragged off into the dark hall of Hogwarts.  
  
End of Chapter One 


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two: The Infamous Mirror  
  
"The chamber that holds the Mirror of Adversities? Are you insane, Malfoy?"  
  
Draco had led Harry across the courtyard and into the tower where the Mirror was. Though Snape had sealed the Mirror's power, the thought of the Mirror that started this all still sent shivers down Harry's spine. To Draco, the whole small tower was like a shrine.  
  
"Come on, don't stall," he bossed Harry. He pulled Harry down the hall, towards the stairs. "No one knows about this place except for us and Snape."  
  
"I have a bad feeling about this," Harry exhaled.  
  
The two went up the stairs, and found that the door to the room was open. They grew very silent and crept into the room. To their surprise, a tall, dark figure was already in the room. And standing behind him, was a familiar old man with long white hair. Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore.  
  
"You knew," Snape was muttering hoarsely, "you knew all along. Why...have you never done anything about it?"  
  
"Really, Severus, admitting my knowledge of your knowledge of the Mirror would have caused your expulsion from this school," Dumbledore said, his voice too cheerful. "If I remember correctly, you were already in your third year, am I correct?"  
  
"Yes, I was thirteen," Snape replied distantly.  
  
"I figured that what you'd been through with the Mirror was enough punishment for anyone," Dumbledore went on, "no need to expel you on top of it all. Of course, I never thought anyone else would find it."  
  
"Why not?" Snape asked blankly.  
  
"You opened the door to this room quite easily, didn't you? Mr. Malfoy did the same, years later," said Dumbledore, "and he left the door open behind him, leading to Harry's entrance."  
  
Snape stared at him with a blank look.  
  
"Do you know why only two students have found this chamber after all these years?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"No. God knows it isn't hidden very well."  
  
Dumbledore raised a finger. "Ah, but it is," he said. "You see, the door to this tower is always locked. The only person who can unlock it is a person who is severely disappointed by the way their life is. Harry only got in because Draco left the door open. The Mirror of Adversities was sealed years ago, by me, Severus."  
  
Snape seemed a little taken aback by all this. Harry noticed that he was keeping his back to the Mirror at all times, as if scared of it. Harry smirked. Snape was not easily scared, it was funny to see him hiding from a Mirror.  
  
Snape crossed his arms, finally. "So, why are you here tonight?" he asked. He was obviously trying to sound polite, but the question came out sounding snappy and rude.  
  
Dumbledore ignored his attitude, used to it by now. "I came to seal it, after hearing that Draco and Harry had been affected by it," he replied. "But someone sealed it before I did, didn't they?"  
  
Snape lowered his eyes. "I...had to put an end to this madness," he defended himself. "Surely, you can understand how alarmed I was to discover that two more students had found it." He smiled a twisted, horrible smile.  
  
"Of course," Dumbledore said in his cheery way. "I was equally alarmed when I found out you had found it."  
  
Snape's smile froze and became more hideous. "I'm sure...you were," he said tensely.  
  
"No need for such a long face, Severus," Dumbledore said merrily. "After all, I did cover for you. Well! I believe I should be getting along, it's very late you know. Good night, Severus."  
  
Dumbledore bumbled off. Snape's face curled into a sneering expression that made Harry shudder. Snape looked even more frightful in the dim, blue moonlight and shadows. To think that his soul was even more hideous than his face...  
  
"Covered for me...you certainly did," Snape said bitterly once Dumbledore was gone. "Once, you covered for me once. But how many times did you cover for that James Potter? If I had done half the things James and Sirius Black did, would you have covered for me then? Of course not, I wasn't a Quidditch star, was I? I wasn't normal, was I? Oh no, you wouldn't dare bend the rules for an ugly, friendless freak, now would you? But of course, you must always act like the hero, Mr. Albus Dumbledore..."  
  
Harry grit his teeth. He hated the way Snape spouted bitter rubbish the way a snake spews venom. He hated his petty grudges and stupid self-pity. He hated the way he talked about his father and Dumbledore. Anyone who hated Dumbledore had to be evil.  
  
Snape suddenly spun around. For a moment, Harry wondered if he had read his thoughts. But Snape was looking at the Mirror, not him. The hideous mask of hatred had left his face, and he stared at the Mirror with a hard expression.  
  
"Only one who is disappointed with their life may unlock this chamber," he said softly. As the moon shone in through the window, it illuminated his face. For a moment, he looked almost human. His beady eyes were soft and sad for once. He bowed his head, oily hair falling over his face. "Perhaps I was a bit...stupid enough to hate my life back then," he muttered. "I was a boy, a weak, pathetic, sniveling child." The way he said the word, it sounded like an insult. "I was disillusioned with my life back then, so it makes sense that I was able to unlock this chamber. But then...why am I still able to unlock it? I am satisfied with my life now." Snape looked up at the Mirror, eyes flaming. "Hmph. Stupid thing....Well, no wonder, if Albus Dumbledore had a hand in its creation, then it must be unreliable. 'Someone has already sealed it, haven't they?' he says. Ha! Seal it? I'll see that this thing is broken into pieces! And until I find a way to do precisely that..." Snape took out his wand. He chanted several odd words, and the mirror flashed. He lifted his head, scowling a deranged scowl. "Your power is freed! I dare you to contort reality before me again!"  
  
Draco and Harry stood up slowly, making sure they were fully covered by the Invisibility Cloak. They moved behind their freakish Professor, trying to see if they could see anything in the Mirror. However, they saw nothing.  
  
Apparently, Snape saw something in the Mirror, because he began to laugh. The laugh was not a natural laugh, but one that was heavy and forced. It was the sort of laugh Harry had heard Draco laugh at times when they were both scared, the laugh of a person forcing himself to be brave.  
  
"Utterly ridiculous!" Snape exclaimed. "Stupid Mirror. Enough of this nonsense. I won't return here until I have a spell powerful enough to destroy you!"  
  
With that, Snape stormed out, still fuming. He slammed the door hard behind him. Draco lifted the Invisibility Cloak off of himself and Harry.  
  
"Well!" he declared, "that was...interesting. I never thought Professor Snape would be the type to talk to himself."  
  
"That bastard," Harry growled furiously. "How dare he speak of my father and Professor Dumbledore that way?"  
  
"I wonder what he saw in this Mirror," Draco wondered out loud. He went up to the Mirror and slid his thin hand over the smooth glass. "I wonder..."  
  
"Let's get back now," Harry urged him. He hoped that Draco had forgotten the reason they'd come.  
  
Draco turned to Harry with a deranged look. No, he had not forgotten. "Go? So soon?" he said with a grin, approaching Harry. "Oh, have you forgotten why we came here? Allow me to refresh your memory..."  
  
Harry backed away from him. "Snape could return at any moment," he warned. "He's always a bit unbalanced when it comes to matters concerning his past..."  
  
Draco pushed Harry up against the wall. His smooth, cold hand wandered into Harry's pajama shirt, across his bare chest. He opened the shirt and kissed Harry's chest. His lips sent a feeling of coldness deep into Harry's body, and at the same time fueled the fire in Harry's heart. Harry took Draco in his arms, and kissed him ferociously. He was losing control of his body, sinking into a burning inferno of passion and pleasure and darkness.  
  
Harry was soon sitting over Draco once again. Their shirts had been thrown off, and one of Draco's shoes had flown clear to the other side of the room. Their silhouettes danced in the moonlight.  
  
"You see?" Draco hissed into Harry's ear. "You see how delicious this is? Don't stop...you can't stop..."  
  
"How can you be so certain?" Harry said to annoy him.  
  
Draco exhaled in ecstasy. His silver eyes shut and he smiled quietly. "Because my lips are soaked in Ecstasia Potion."  
  
Harry's green eyes widened as his glasses slid off. "What?"  
  
Draco kissed him veraciously. "Mmm...A Potion which fires the soul and body," he explained with an evil grin. "It isn't a very strong Potion, you could override it if your will was strong enough. But the question is...do you want to override it?"  
  
In answer, Harry kissed him roughly. Clothes were scattered about, and their shadows and silhouettes continued their moonlit dance. Despite the chilly spring winds blowing outside, the room was warm. The two wizards embraced each other fully, beneath the Mirror that started it all.  
  
*  
  
Now, Draco had stolen the Ecstasia Potion from one of Snape's cabinets. In the process of stealing it, he had also knocked countless bottles down and spilled them. In a rush, he'd poured different Potions into different containers and put the mess back. Snape had not noticed, fortunately.  
  
The ordeal of gazing into the Mirror for the third time in his life had been stressing for Severus Snape. He had bad memories attached to the thing. Before going home to bed, he'd stopped by his office to grab a potion used for sleeping easily. He had no idea that in his rush to fix everything, Draco had accidentally poured a Nightmare Potion into the Sleeping Potion bottle.  
  
He noticed that the taste was odd, after drinking it, but decided to ignore it. It wasn't until he began to fall into the dark world of dreams that he realized what he'd drank, and then it was too late. He had just enough time to curse Harry Potter (who he figured had been the one to swap the Potions) before falling asleep.  
  
Now, the Nightmare Potion is as smart as potions get. Not only does it plunge a person into a world of nightmares, but the nightmare it creates is so realistic that many wizards and witches had been driven insane and woken up still thinking they were inside the dream world. It takes the worst memory in a person's mind and replays it exactly as it happened. Worse of all, the effect lasted for more than one night. A person could have nightmares for up to seven nights in a row. The Nightmare Potion was so strong and so horrible, it was even used in Azkaban, the wizard prison, as a punishment.  
  
End of Chapter Two 


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three: What Snape Saw in the Mirror  
  
"OUT WITH IT!"  
  
The words echoed loudly throughout the snow-filled courtyard one white December day at Hogwarts'. A young boy with light brown hair and a tired look on his face was cornered against a tree, his face very nervous and afraid. He fiddled with his Gryffindor scarf anxiously. A taller boy with longish, sleak black hair stood before him, his Slytherin scarf blowing in the cold wind. He was a bit awkward looking, compared to the cute Gryffindor student before him, what with his cold black eyes and hawk-like nose. The expression on his thin face was one of sheer hatred.  
  
"Where do you keep sneaking off to every month, Remus Lupin?" he demanded to know, his voice strong for thirteen. "I just got my fifth detention this month for following you, and you haven't even been called into Dumbledore's office, have you?"  
  
"N-no..."  
  
"WHY NOT?" the black-haired kid asked loudly. "What are you hiding? And why does Dumbledore keep covering for you?"  
  
"I...I don't know," the baby-faced Remus said weakly. "Please...Severus..."  
  
"Oh, I know why," Severus replied. "They cover for you because you're friends with James Potter. Dumbledore can't risk upsetting wonderful James Potter or his wonderful friends. So he lets you get away with anything you want! And all so the star Quidditch player won't be expelled. I won't have it! I'll get you and Potter into so much trouble, Dumbledore will have to expel you! NOW TELL ME WHERE YOU WERE YESTERDAY NIGHT!"  
  
Remus flinched. But before he could worry about answering, he saw his friends coming up behind Snape. "Guys!" he called for help.  
  
Snape was suddenly grabbed by the back of his robe and tossed aside roughly. He stumbled and then whipped around. He came face-to-face with a devilishly cute boy his own age and about his height. His scowl twisted even more.  
  
"Leave Remus alone, Snape!" the handsome, raven-haired boy shouted. He confrontationally poked Snape's shoulder. "If anyone should be hiding anything, you should be hiding that face of yours!"  
  
Snape pushed him. "Shut up!" he yelled. "You're the ones sneaking around the school every night and getting away with it!"  
  
"What's the problem, Snape?" James Potter spoke up. "We're only trying to find a good place for you to live. You know, somewhere where you won't scare every person that sees you?"  
  
The raven-haired, cute Sirius Black and be speckled James Potter burst into laughter. Remus chuckled unsurely. Even the fat little tag-along Peter Pettigrew giggled annoyingly. Snape's face turned red, and fury welled inside his chest. Without stopping to think, he swung back and punched Sirius Black right on the side of his handsome face. Sirius was stunned, but he recovered quickly. He punched Snape back, and the two fell into a wrestling match in the snow.  
  
There was no one Severus Snape hated more than Sirius Black. From the moment they'd met, Black had always looked down at him as if Snape were some grotesque insect in need of a squashing. In turn, Snape had loathed Sirius and all his roguish ways. Their rivalry was the most famous in the school.  
  
"I'll see you dead one day, Sirius Black!" Snape shouted angrily as they wrestled. He punched Sirius right on his straight, thin nose, and grinned as the blood splattered on his face.  
  
"Jealous thing, aren't you?" Sirius said knowingly, sniffing up blood. He ignored his nose and gave Snape a black eye. "Don't worry about bruises, you can't get any uglier, can you?"  
  
Tears of pain and fury welled in Snape's eyes as he was socked in the stomach, but he held them back. Taking a breath and too enraged to feel his stomach twisting and caving in with pain, he kicked Sirius and elbowed his ribs. Sirius was on top of him now, but he still gave a bit of struggle.  
  
Finally, Sirius was lifted off of Snape. Snape swung at him, hitting only air, then was lifted off the ground as well.  
  
"Break it up, break it up," Hagrid, the gamekeeper, snorted at them. "Ev'ry day, it's the same thing, in'it? Sirius and Severus, yeh never change. Keep it up and I'll have to report yeh to Dumbledore, I will."  
  
"Hn." Sirius wiped blood from his nose and glared at Snape.  
  
"Please don't report Sirius, Hagrid," James pleaded. "Snape started it, he was bullying Remus."  
  
Snape began to defend himself. "I-"  
  
"I believe that," Hagrid interrupted, giving Snape a stern look. "I won't say nuthin this time, but no more fightin'. Ya hear?"  
  
"Yes," Sirius agreed. "Sorry, Hagrid."  
  
A muscle in Snape's cheek twitched as he watched Gryffindor being covered for yet again. The four Gryffindors shuffled off through the snow, taking Sirius to the hospital wing, no doubt. Snape shook with fury, his stomach weak and aching.  
  
"And as fer you!" Hagrid turned on him. "I dun want to see you in any more trouble, Severus! I just about had it with ye!"  
  
"I DIDN'T start it!" Snape yelled back. "Sirius poked me! I was just trying to stop them from making trouble! If you weren't so biased against Slytherin, you'd SEE that!"  
  
Hagrid's huge hand wrapped around Snape's ear and shook him by it. Snape winced.  
  
"One more word outta ye and I'm taking ye to Dumbledore!" he warned. "No more fighting! Understand?"  
  
"Yes..." Snape said grudgingly.  
  
Hagrid released him and left, grumbling about spoiled brats and troublemakers. Snape glowered after him, rubbing his ear. He should have known better than to argue with Hagrid, another disgusting Potter fan. Everyone in the school was on Potter's side, which meant they ignored all the trouble he and his friends caused. At the same time, they were harsh on Snape whenever he got in trouble. The whole thing was terribly unfair and often frustrated young Snape to the point of near insanity.  
  
Today was one of those near-insane days. Snape was shaking with anger, both fists clenched so hard that his nails dug into his palm, nearly cutting the flesh. He stormed off through the courtyard, trudging heavily through the knee-deep snow. He didn't know where he was going, he just clomped through the snow like a thin, black-clad plow.  
  
"Damn them!" he seethed. "It's always me! I'm always the bad one, I'm always the one to be punished! They can't risk offending the star of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team! So I'm the scapegoat, as always. Stupid, stupid school!"  
  
Snape kicked the snow as he walked, and finally stopped in front of a small door. Wheezing and with his stomach hurting, Snape leaned against the door. He scrunched his eyes shut and held his stomach and black eye. Miserable, he felt miserable.  
  
"Stupid James Potter," he muttered bitterly. "The Quidditch star, the joy of the school...Huh. No one notices my talent, do they? I get better grades, I'm smarter, I study hard and stay out of trouble...But everyone is too blinded by the joyous light of James' shining star." Snape leaned further against the door, his waist turning the knob. "And Sirius...huh...handsome, adorable, witty, charming Sirius Black...Of course, he's charmed the entire staff. Next to him, I'm..." Snape trailed off, his voice breaking. He shut his eyes. "Next to him, I'm nothing but an ugly freak..."  
  
Suddenly, the door behind Snape creaked open. Before he could move away, Snape fell back through the door with a childish yelp. "Ah!"  
  
*  
  
Snape landed hard on his back against a cold stone floor. He cringed. The day kept getting worse and worse. The youth pulled his long body off the ground, standing up like a lithe spider or scrawny black cat. He rubbed his head, mussing his long black hair, and looked around. This was not a part of the school he had seen or heard of before. Confused, Snape stared down the dark hall. There was a passageway ahead. Snape narrowed his eyes. Perhaps this was one of Remus' hiding places. Snape grinned a maniacal grin and headed down the hall. If he could find some proof that someone had been here, he would tell a teacher. Or he could wait there and see if Remus came back. Or maybe James and the others had something hidden here.  
  
Snape chuckled as he flew down the hall and came to a stairway. Yes, he would get them in trouble. He climbed the stairs two at a time, his long legs working quickly. Finally, he reached the top, and another door. He gripped the knob in his bony fingers and turned it. It creaked open slowly, and then he pushed it open impatiently.  
  
An empty, dimly lit room greeted the young student. He narrowed his eyes and swept in, tracking snow in with him. The room was completely empty, lit only by the setting sun. Disappointed, Snape exhaled. He was about to leave, when his eyes fell on something glinting faintly in the corner. He spun around. Something was gleaming beneath layers of dust. Snape walked up to it briskly and wiped the dust away, sneezing a couple of short sneezes. Beneath the dust was something smooth and shimmering...  
  
A mirror.  
  
Snape looked at the mirror and read an inscription on the frame. 'The Mirror of Adversities' it read. Snape frowned in confusion.  
  
Suddenly, the mirror flashed. Snape jumped back in alarm. Fog was swirling in the mirror, and began to clear after a moment. The reflection changed. Slowly, the courtyard began to appear in the mirror. Snape watched as he saw himself standing in front of Remus, as he had just minutes ago. The mirror was replaying the fight from earlier! Snape backed away in alarm, but could not bring himself to break his gaze on the mirror.  
  
The scene was different in a way, though. Instead of yelling, Snape and Remus were talking...talking civilly at that! They looked like...two friends. Sirius, Peter, and James Potter came by, and the five began to talk and laugh like friends. And...around Snape's neck was...  
  
Snape's eyes widened as he realized what he was wearing.  
  
It was a Gryffindor scarf.  
  
End of Chapter Three 


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four: The Morning After  
  
Draco and Harry woke up together early the next morning, while the rest of the school was still sleeping. Harry woke up first, feeling dazed and weird and with a mysterious smile on his face. He fumbled around for his glasses, found them, and put them on. The room came into focus, but it wasn't his bedroom. He was still lying in the chamber of the Mirror of Adversities, on the floor. As he sat up a little, he felt a heavy, living weight on his chest. Harry looked down. Draco was sound asleep, his blond head leaned on Harry's chest. As if someone had waved a wand, all the memories of last night sank into Harry's mind. His face slowly turned red.  
  
Harry straightened his clothes, thinking of the past night in his mind. As he got completely dressed, his mind replayed every detail, every moment. His face was flushed and he felt embarrassed, but he couldn't help smiling a little. Especially when he recalled how Draco had almost chickened out at the last moment. Harry laughed a little. Stupid, cute Malfoy...  
  
Draco was fast asleep. Harry tried to wake him, but he grumbled something about it being too early and curled up like a child. In a rush, Harry began dressing him. If they didn't get back to their dorms, they would be missed.  
  
"Uhmmm....H-Harry?" Draco finally yawned, his silver eyes misty and tired. His arm fumbled around, searching for Harry. "Harry?"  
  
Harry took Draco's thin, feminine hand in his own. "I'm here, Draco."  
  
Draco looked at him with a sleepy smile. "Hello, Potter," he drawled, drunk with sleepiness. "Pleasant morning, isn't it?"  
  
Harry smiled. "Yes, it is," he replied. "I suppose your idea wasn't as...horrible...as I'd thought it would be." Harry stroked Draco's fair face. "You are...very..."  
  
"Sexy?" suggested Draco.  
  
Harry blushed. "I...I suppose so."  
  
Draco yawned and sat up straight. Though he was awake, he made no effort to help Harry dress him. "I was surprised as well," he said in his lazy voice. "I must admit, you were...fantastic. Much more fantastic than I expected, of course. But it's all for the better. I'd have been disappointed if the great Harry Potter were a louse in bed."  
  
Harry's face grew redder. "M-Malfoy! Cut it out!" he said, tousling Draco's hair.  
  
Draco only laughed. "Bashful all of a sudden, are you? You certainly weren't shy last night."  
  
Harry finished dressing Draco and stood up. "Let's go. We can't afford to be caught."  
  
Draco stood up, leaning on Harry's arm. "Oh, must we?" he asked, pouting. "Parting really is such sweet sorrow..."  
  
"Oh shut up."  
  
Draco laughed. "I was being sarcastic, Potter!" he said. "You're so serious about things!"  
  
Harry picked up the Invisibility Cloak and flung it over himself and Draco. "We'll go back to my room in this, then you can get your own and go back to your Slytherin dorm."  
  
"Whatever you say, Potter."  
  
They started off.  
  
"So, is this what you and that Weasly boy do?" Draco asked as they left. "Sneak off like this? Explore the castle?"  
  
"Yes," Harry replied. He was ready to defend Ron if Draco dared to say anything bad about him.  
  
"It's fun," was all Draco said.  
  
"It would be fun if you weren't always trying to get us in trouble," Harry replied, "you and Snape. Besides, I never figured you for the sneaking type."  
  
"Did you ever think to ask?" Draco looked hurt. "Would you ever ask a Slytherin to join in your adventures? Would your father have?"  
  
Harry just looked at him. "...No."  
  
"Then, how can you expect us not to envy you?" Draco said quietly. "You...You have it all, don't you? The House Cup, talent on the Quidditch field, talent for magic, popularity with all the staff (except Snape)...You have everything, Potter."  
  
"Everything?" Harry asked incredulously. "You think I have everything? You have more than I do!"  
  
"I may act like I do...but I...I don't," Draco admitted. He was still half-asleep, otherwise he wouldn't be making so many insecure confessions.  
  
"You have wealth and your heritage as a wizard," Harry told him. "And most of all...you have both your parents."  
  
"They don't care about me anyway," Draco said bitterly. "Ever since their precious little trophy got tarnished by defeat, they've been cold. They might as well be dead."  
  
"Don't you ever say that, Malfoy!" Harry said sternly. "No matter what, anything is better than being an orphan! Remember that." He shook his head. "I'd trade everything I have...for a chance to live with my parents...as a family."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Draco suddenly embraced him. "Don't be so morose, Harry," he said, still drunk with sleepiness. "I've never seen this pathetic side of you before."  
  
Harry knew Draco didn't mean for it to sound like an insult, but it did. He exhaled. "Don't pity me, Draco."  
  
Draco kissed his cheek. "I don't," he said shortly. "But I will stop...talking about your parents...at least for a little while."  
  
That was as kind as Draco Malfoy would ever get. But it actually made Harry feel better. He kissed Draco back and held him close. "Thanks...Malfoy."  
  
*  
  
The two managed to get back into their respective dorms before the rest of the school awoke. No one suspected a thing. The rest of the day went as usual. It felt weird to speak with everyone after such an unusual night, and Harry found that his mind kept wandering to Draco. By the time afternoon classes rolled around, Harry had every inch of Draco's pointy face memorized. He walked through the halls with a stupid smile on his face, barely listening to Ron and Hermione's talk.  
  
"Ohh...not double Potions with Slytherin again!" Ron was complaining. "I just almost failed Snape's stupid test, and he's going to tell the whole class how my work is an example of what not to do!"  
  
"Well, Ron, if you don't want to be criticized for shoddy work, you should study more," Hermione told him. "Not that I completely agree with Professor Snape, mind you, but your work does need improvement, you know." Hermione's face grew a little soft. "I could--you know-- help you, tonight, if you'd meet me somewhere, you know, quiet."  
  
Ron turned red. "Sure...we can...study."  
  
"Yes, study."  
  
"Together."  
  
"Study together...tonight." Hermione blushed.  
  
Harry just smiled, knowing they were planning a date. He was truly happy for them for once, the jealousy was gone. He marveled at how nice spring was.  
  
At the door to the Potions classroom, they ran into Draco. Harry and Draco exchanged flushed, small smiles before donning their rivalry act.  
  
"Potter, what are you doing here?" Draco asked. "Didn't you hear that Potions class was cancelled?"  
  
"Huh?" Harry had been staring at Draco's face, and the words had flown right over his head.  
  
"Potions class is cancelled?" asked Ron. "Are you serious, Malfoy?"  
  
Draco crossed his arms. "As serious as your family's financial status," he retorted. "Professor Snape is in his office, but he was feeling too ill to teach class. He gave us some free time instead."  
  
"Free time?" Hermione asked, blinking.  
  
"From Snape?" Ron asked incredulously. "Go on! Snape never gives free time!"  
  
"He must be feeling very ill," Hermione said. "Dear, I hope it isn't terminal."  
  
"I hope it is," Ron said, laughing. "If he gave us free time, he must be on his deathbed!"  
  
"So, Ron, why don't we go study...now?" Hermione suggested, a little timid.  
  
"S-sure! Oh...but...Harry..."  
  
Harry waved a hand. "Go ahead, we'll meet in the library before the next class," he said cheerfully.  
  
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked. "I could help you too, you know!"  
  
"No, I really am doing well with everything," Harry said. "Go on, go on."  
  
"Okay...thank you, Harry."  
  
"Have fun."  
  
"We will!" Ron said enthusiastically. He was elbowed by Hermione. "Oh! I mean...studying isn't fun! We'll just...well...study...." Another jab in the ribs. "I mean! See you later then!"  
  
They rushed off. Harry smiled and shook his head.  
  
"A Muggle-born and a Muggle-lover," Draco said, "it's perfect."  
  
Harry turned to him. They stared at each other intently, both with passion in their eyes. They might have kissed, but footsteps interrupted them. Professor Snape suddenly appeared before them.  
  
"Professor Snape!" Draco exclaimed. "We were just reading the note you left. No Potions class today, eh?"  
  
Snape did not look himself. His eyes had a faraway look that reminded Harry of Professor Trelawney, but they were also glazed over and sorrowful. His skin was as white as Draco's, and his face looked more sunken in than usual. He looked like something you would expect to find beneath the hood of a dementor. He didn't even say anything to Draco, he was just...staring lifelessly at his own note on the door.  
  
"Professor...Snape?" Draco asked tentatively. "Are you all right?"  
  
"...They never did catch Sirius Black, did they?" Snape muttered senselessly. "Time comes and goes, and things never change, everyone always looking the other way, turning a blind eye. Reality, opposite reality, it's all the same, Gryffindors always...always come out ahead, don't they? The only difference is who is Gryffindor and who isn't. Horrible things...mirrors...whether they show the promise of what could have been...or the tragedy of what is..."  
  
Harry and Draco shared a worried look. Snape was quite unbalanced, they'd never seen him this way before. He was usually so cool and calm and sinister, he never babbled so strangely. Harry was a little scared. There was no telling what Snape might do in such a state.  
  
Snape suddenly turned to Draco and Harry. "You two!" he exclaimed as if just noticing them, "why aren't you fighting anymore? A Slytherin," he put a hand on Draco's shoulder, "a Gryffindor," he put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Don't you see that it's impossible? What's the matter with you two?" He shook them both. "Don't you see that the Potters look down on everyone? Can't you see how cruel they are?"  
  
"P-Professor Snape, you look ill," Draco said worriedly. "Harry, go get...Dumbledore..."  
  
"Right." Not wanting to stay any longer, Harry pulled out of Snape's grasp and took off.  
  
"Here, lean against the wall." Draco helped his old Professor lean back. Snape looked very old and very tired. A few strands of silver could be seen gleaming in his black hair. "You look horrible. What happened?"  
  
Snape leaned his head back, his face sweating now. "Don't be fooled by the Mirror," he rambled on. "They really despise you...it's all an act...You're really a hideous freak to them...yes..."  
  
Draco put his hand on his hip. "My dear Professor, I doubt anyone could think of me as hideous."  
  
Snape looked at him. He blinked twice, and his eyes seemed to clear for a moment. "Malfoy..." he muttered. "I...Nightmare Potion..."  
  
"You drank a Nightmare Potion?"  
  
"Yes...I...gah!" Snape clutched his head in his hands as if he'd been struck over it. He slowly sank to his knees. "Always...always look the other way...never...give me...a break...stupid James Potter...damn that Sirius, how dare he insult me..."  
  
"Professor...please..." Draco said helplessly. He didn't know what to do or say. It was strange to see someone like Snape acting so pathetic and crazed. He was hugging his knees now, staring into space. Draco hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder. "Get a hold of yourself."  
  
"Up to something...I know it..." Snape babbled. "Why, why don't they believe me? That Remus...sneaking away every month...up to something horrible...I know...I've always known...No one...no one believes me...ugly freak...I know...they all think..."  
  
Luckily, Harry and Dumbledore arrived just then. Dumbledore knelt in front of Snape and looked him over.  
  
"They're up to something," Snape told him urgently.  
  
"Who is?"  
  
"Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter," Snape told him, "I know they're going to cause trouble!"  
  
Dumbledore eyed him as if he feared Snape had finally gone completely mad. "When you said he was sick, you weren't kidding."  
  
"I'm not sick!" Snape declared. "You never, you never believe me! You take Potter's word for everything!"  
  
"He said he drank Nightmare Potion," Draco spoke up.  
  
Dumbledore's eyes widened behind his glasses. "Nightmare Potion! Oh me...oh dear me...that explains it. Cureless too, Nightmare Potion. It causes nightmares strong enough to drive the drinker insane, nightmares based on memories..."  
  
Snape's eyes fell on Harry. He grabbed the boy by the front of his shirt. "You! You and your posse of rogues!" he snarled. "Always looking down on me! James Potter, the Quidditch star! I'll prove that you're worthless! I'll have you expelled!"  
  
Harry was too frightened and alarmed to say anything. Dumbledore pried Snape's clammy hand off of his shirt and helped the disoriented Professor stand.  
  
"Calm down, Severus," he told him. "You aren't well today, let's get you home."  
  
"Why don't you listen to me?" Snape asked shrilly. "Why do you always side with Potter? He's just a Quidditch player! I never cause trouble, my grades are better than his..."  
  
"Yes, yes, fine," Dumbledore said gently. "I know. Come with me, and I'll listen all you like. (Oh, it's going to be a long day)."  
  
"Sirius Black has given me five black eyes, and you've never punished him! Remus sneaks off every month! Pettigrew is...Pettigrew is pathetic! Why do you defend them? I saw that Lupin sneaking off a month ago, and he didn't come back until morning, and..."  
  
Dumbledore led Snape away. Draco and Harry listened to his complaining until they were gone. Snape's voice faded away into silence.  
  
"That was..." Draco was at a loss for words.  
  
"...the most disturbing thing I have ever seen," Harry finished for him. "Nightmare Potion is so strong that it's used in Azkaban. How do you think he wound up drinking it by accident?"  
  
Draco thought back to when he'd mixed up Snape's potions. He shrugged innocently. "I have no idea."  
  
End of Chapter Four 


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five: The Nightmare Potion  
  
Snape had stopped rambling by late evening. However, he was much too humiliated to go back into Hogwarts' for the rest of the day. He ate dinner alone, and sat staring into a lit fireplace blankly. He was trying to work out a cure for the Nightmare Potion in his mind ("Perhaps...a slither of dragons' liver, hair of a unicorn..."). However, his mind soon turned to the past.  
  
He hated himself for getting so wild over issues from his childhood, but every time he recalled those days his blood boiled. Though the anger from being insulted was part of the reason it bothered him so much, it wasn't the main reason at all. The real reason the past irked him so much was that it hurt. It hurt to have lived the life of the class fool, and every insult still stung like a fresh slap on the face. It hurt that he had never gotten revenge...well, not like he would have wanted, anyway.  
  
Now, Snape was not a stupid man. He knew that ultimately he was only a bitter old fool who couldn't let go of the past and spent his entire life wallowing in self-pity. But he didn't see any reason to change what he was (and what did they expect after out casting him as a child?) so he ignored that fact. His hatred would never end.  
  
Snape shook the thoughts from his head, standing up suddenly. He could not allow the Nightmare Potion to affect him so strongly!  
  
The Professor flew to a shelf full of hideous, bottled objects. He grabbed ingredients off the shelf and flew over to a large cauldron. Desperate to be rid of the horrible memories, he began to boil and stir and pour and mix. There was no known cure for the Nightmare Potion's effects, but he would find one!  
  
Suddenly, there was a knock on the nearby front door. "WHO IS IT?" Snape roared in annoyance, not leaving the potion.  
  
"Dumbledore?" came a rather timid reply.  
  
Snape cringed, and used all his strength to keep from saying something unforgivably rude. "Enter!" he called, swearing under his breath.  
  
Dumbledore came in slowly. He glanced at Snape and at the cauldron. Then, he smiled his usual merry smile. "I see you're back to your normal self," he observed.  
  
"Yes, I am," Snape said coolly. He thought, then added, "I apologize for my behavior. I assure you, I did not drink the Nightmare Potion on purpose."  
  
"Of course not," Dumbledore agreed. "If there is one thing I know about you, Severus, it's that you hate losing control of yourself. Always have."  
  
"Yes." Snape glanced at him. "Shall I even bother telling you who I think was behind it?"  
  
Dumbledore nodded.  
  
"...Oh, what's the use?" Snape muttered. "Forget it, just forget it."  
  
"Ah, that reminds me!" Dumbledore said suddenly. "I had wanted to discuss some of the things you said while you were under the influence of the Nightmare Potion."  
  
Snape stiffened. "I was clearly not in my right mind," he defended himself. "Surely, you understand, the potion..."  
  
Dumbledore waved a hand. "Now, now, no need to be so defensive, Severus," he said calmly. "You really do think I have it out for you, don't you?"  
  
"Of course not," said Snape. It was a very weak statement. Perhaps he realized this, because he went on to explain. "The Nightmare Potion affects the mind and brain directly. It causes the taker to become delirious and--"  
  
"--and it causes the taker to make known all their deepest emotions and opinions," Dumbledore interrupted. "Yes, I know my potions pretty well, Severus. Like the Dementors, the Nightmare Potion increases the pain of past, painful memories. It doesn't cause negative emotions, but rather amplifies negative emotions that are already there."  
  
Snape lowered his head. So, Dumbledore's true colors were finally revealed. Snape had slipped once, and now Dumbledore was going to use that as an excuse to terminate his employment. Wouldn't Harry be thrilled...  
  
"Severus, I've always known you thought that the staff, including myself, are too lenient with Harry and James Potter," Dumbledore said, looking at Snape with a strange look. "I also understand your jealousy of the Potters, who you've always said have 'it all'. And...I do admit to making several special allowances for the Potters from time to time."  
  
Snape opened his mouth to say that 'several special allowances' was an understatement, but then thought better of it. He shut his mouth and viciously stirred his boiling potion.  
  
"Severus, you've always been such a stickler for the rules," Dumbledore told him, "so I know you don't understand why I've--er-- found ways around them at times. But you did say this evening that you always tried to do the right thing as a child. Severus, please understand me. Sometimes, in order to do the right thing, one must step outside the rules."  
  
Snape made a small, snorting noise that showed he didn't agree.  
  
"Think about it, Severus," Dumbledore said slowly. "When you were a child, let's say about thirteen or so, you followed Remus around constantly. At times, you yourself broke the rules by following him into out of bounds areas."  
  
"But I was only trying--"  
  
"--to do the right thing?" Dumbledore suggested. "Then, doesn't that prove that sometimes one must break the rules in order to do the right thing?"  
  
Snape opened his mouth to argue, but couldn't think of anything to say. Hatred flared in his black eyes, and he stirred the potion even more viciously. He saw Dumbledore's smiling face inside the cauldron and splashed it around furiously. He didn't hate Dumbledore, but the old coot did annoy him at times.  
  
"As for jealousy," Dumbledore went on, "jealousy is a sort of poison. It's always been your biggest...er...issue. But you must understand that James and Harry Potter never asked for what they've gotten...and they each suffered before and after getting it. We all know what horrible fate befell James, and Harry is an orphan."  
  
"Tragic," Snape said flatly.  
  
"Anyhow, I didn't come here to annoy you with sympathy for your enemies. I simply came to try and explain that I haven't been too lenient on the Potters, and that I never did have it out for you, Severus. I have always been fair with you, and believe it or not, with the Potters."  
  
That did it. "FAIR? FAIR!" Snape exploded. "YOU TREATED THEM LIKE GOLD! AND YOU ACTED LIKE I WAS DIRT! YOU LET THEM FREE THAT CONVICT, THAT MURDERER, SIRIUS BLACK! IF I HAD DONE HALF THE THINGS THAT THE POTTERS HAVE DONE, YOU'D HAVE HAD ME EXPELLED AND PROBABLY LOCKED IN AZKABAN BY NOW!"  
  
Dumbledore looked dumbfounded. "I'd never have you locked in Azkaban, Severus, you know that. Please, calm yourself."  
  
"HOW CAN YOU ASK ME TO CALM DOWN?!" Snape yelled, stalking towards the old principal. "For years, I tried my damnedest to get those four expelled, I did my best in school, and NO ONE NOTICED! Talent with charms and potions may not be as glamorous as talent on the Quidditch field, BUT IT IS TALENT! And no one CARED!"  
  
Dumbledore grabbed Snape by the shoulders firmly. "Calm down, man," he said sternly. "Let it go, Severus. Over twenty years have passed, it's time you let it go!"  
  
"You don't...You don't understand..." Snape said weakly, flopping down onto a chair. He covered his eyes with a hand. "Every time...every time I see that face..." He was referring to Harry. "It all comes back...every time I see that face...All the insults and the covering up and the trouble....I hate...I hate them all so...so much..."  
  
Dumbledore stared at him. "...God, I pity you..."  
  
"Sorry, sorry..." Snape apologized as he calmed himself. "The Nightmare Potion must be taking affect again...I'm sorry...I never meant...You've always been fair, I know that..."  
  
Dumbledore put a hand on his shoulder. "It's fine, Severus," he told him. "I know you wouldn't be so wild if it weren't for the potion. You ought to rest."  
  
Snape was already falling asleep. "Damn, damn potion...If I ever find the student...and can prove it...I'll..."  
  
But the fingers of the nightmare world were already grasping his mind and soul. Dreading the night ahead, Snape struggled to remain awake. It didn't work.  
  
*  
  
Eternal, engulfing darkness...a coldness so bitter it could freeze the life out of a person...a loneliness so thick in the air it was tangible...and then, Snape was suddenly thirteen again, and standing before the Mirror of Adversities for the first time.  
  
The reflection in the Mirror was that of not four but five Gryffindor students laughing and talking. Young Snape knew each face all too well. The devilishly handsome Sirius Black was joking confidently, the be speckled James Potter was laughing at the jokes, pudgy little Peter Pettigrew was trailing along behind, and baby-faced Remus Lupin had his arm around...  
  
Snape shook his head. Why was the mirror showing Remus talking and laughing with him? Why was he wearing a Gryffindor scarf? Snape absently ran a hand over the scarf he was wearing, which bore the turquoise and black colors of Slytherin. How could the mirror twist things so horribly?  
  
Yet, there was something bittersweet about the scene. Snape stared at himself, at how happy he looked to be playing around with the Gryffindor gang, and it hurt. Snape suddenly felt such a sharp pang of pain in his chest that he had to draw a breath. His gaze with the mirror broke, and when he looked at it again, there was only his real reflection. He stared at himself, with his black eye and his Slytherin scarf. He had not been this disappointed with his own reflection since Sirius Black had first insulted his nose back in year one and he had looked in a mirror and (stupidly) compared himself to Sirius. However, this hurt even more than that instance. Snape slowly approached the mirror and touched it.  
  
"Bring it back," he murmured. "Let me see that again."  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Stupid thing," Severus snorted. He kicked it. "Friends with Potter and Black...ha! That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen! Ha, ha, ha, ha!" he forced himself to laugh.  
  
The reflection twisted and vanished. Words slowly appeared on the mirror's sleek surface: 'Inversera Universum'.  
  
"Inversera...of course!" Severus said in realization. "The Mirror of Adversities! It's purpose is to show an inverse reality! It shows the opposite of real life! In reality, I'm a Slytherin, so in the opposite realm I'm a Gryffindor! Potter, Black, and I are such horrible enemies, we're great friends in the alternate realm!" Snape laughed nervously. "Of course, of course! It was stupid to take it seriously..." The boy took out his wand and waved it at the mirror mockingly. "Inversera Universum!"  
  
To his surprise, the mirror flashed brilliantly. He jumped back. His eyes narrowed and he faced the mirror confrontationally. He approached the mirror slowly, waving his wand again and shouting "Inversera Universum!"  
  
Another blinding flash.  
  
"Inversera Universum!"  
  
Just as the last of the words left his mouth, Severus tripped suddenly. He lost his balance and fell against the mirror. Before he had time to curse his untied shoe, he felt his hands sinking into something soft. He looked down. His hands were sinking into the mirror! Severus yelped and tried to regain his balance, but it was too late. He leaned on the mirror, and found himself falling into it.  
  
End of Chapter Five 


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six: Those Weren't The Days...  
  
Severus found himself falling for what seemed like an eternity, through sheer darkness and falling snow. The laughter of schoolboys seemed to echo faintly in the emptiness, and still...that loneliness...  
  
Snape suddenly landed with a thump on something soft and bounced a little. The moment he landed, he felt extremely tired, as if he'd just run a thousand miles. Whatever incantation Inversera Universum was, it must have been a powerful spell. Severus tried to pull himself up, but collapsed onto what felt like a pillow. Maybe the Mirror had transported him back to his room...and he was safe in bed. Wherever he was, Snape felt himself drifting off into sleep. Stupid mirror...stupid chamber...How disappointing it was to find no evidence that James, Sirius, or Remus had been causing trouble with it. Severus cursed them as he fell asleep.  
  
The next thing he knew, it was morning. The sun was just starting to poke out, giving the room a bluish tinge of light. It was early enough to go back to sleep, but Severus always woke up early, no matter what. Still groggy, the boy sat up slowly and wiped his eyes. He figured that the entire ordeal with the Mirror of Adversities had been a dream. Well, of course it had been a dream! Imagine, a mirror showing the reflection of him being a Gryffindor! It was too ridiculous to be real. Severus chuckled and shook his head as he climbed out of bed. Dreams were such frivolous things...  
  
His chuckling stopped abruptly as his eyes fell on a nearby bed, and who was sleeping in it. Was that? No, it couldn't be. But it certainly did look like...  
  
Severus went up to his sleeping room mate and pulled the covers down off his face. Horror lit his face as the blankets revealed none other than James Potter. Snape dropped the sheets and jumped back, startled. What was James Potter doing in his room, in a Slytherin room?  
  
Snape waved his wand at a nearby light, illuminating the room. His face melted from horror to utter shock. He wasn't in his Slytherin room, he was in a Gryffindor dorm! Had he been a girl, Severus might have fainted on the spot. But he didn't (of course), instead he gripped his wand tightly in his hand and tightened his lips. So, the Mirror of Adversities had not been a dream after all. He had fallen through the mirror...clear to the other side! Severus drew a breath. He was in an alternate reality! Worse of all, he was in a world where he was a Gryffindor! This was too much. Severus shut his eyes, trying to calm himself.  
  
"Good morning...Sevvy..."  
  
Snape opened his eyes instantly. James Potter was giving him a sleepy smile as he put on his glasses. Snape twitched. Sevvy? Sevvy?  
  
"Up at the crack of dawn as always..." James yawned. "You're lucky Sirius isn't in this dorm...he'd never go for it..."  
  
Severus couldn't speak. He didn't know what to say or do. The situation was simply too bizarre. He just stood there, staring at his enemy, clutching his wand tightly.  
  
"Hey, what's with the Slytherin scarf, Severus?" James asked as he stood up and stretched. He laughed a little. "Don't let Sirius see you with it, you two argue enough as it is. Ha! Imagine if you really were a Slytherin! I think he'd have killed you by now..."  
  
"Imagine that," Snape said flatly.  
  
"Well, you aren't a boring old Slytherin," James said cheerfully. "You're a boring old Gryffindor!"  
  
Snape's fist tightened. "..."  
  
"Well, I have Quidditch practice soon," James went on, getting dressed now. "It's a good thing you're not Slytherin, because the Gryffindor Quidditch team is going to destroy them soon! Ha, ha!"  
  
"This is a joke, isn't it?" Severus asked hopefully. "You guys found out about the Mirror of Adversities, and decided to play a trick on me, didn't you? You thought it would be funny to pretend that I'm a Gryffindor!"  
  
James just looked at him. "But you are a Gryffindor..."  
  
"I'm not a Gryffindor!" Severus lifted up his scarf. "I'm a Slytherin!"  
  
"I don't know where you stole that from, but that isn't a funny joke, Severus."  
  
"It's not a JOKE!" Severus said, his voice raising. "It took the Sorting Hat about two seconds to place me in Slytherin! I'm a Slytherin! I hate Gryffindors, I hate Quidditch, and I hate YOU!"  
  
James was fully dressed now. He faced Severus slowly. Then, to Snape's horror, he began laughing and clapping. "Good show!" he said, impersonating stuffy theater-goers. "Well done, well done! Splendid performance, just splendid! You may now address the theater as 'home'."  
  
Snape glowered at him. "It wasn't an act!" he exclaimed. "This is your cruelest joke ever, Potter."  
  
"This is your cruelest joke ever!" James replied, serious now. "How can you wake up one morning and pretend that we haven't been friends for the past two and a half years?" He put on a McGonagall-type voice. "You should be ashamed!"  
  
But James stopped joking when he realized the serious hatred in Snape's eyes. He realized that this wasn't a joke, Snape was dead serious.  
  
"Severus, are you..." James trailed off. He went up to Snape and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong? Why are you acting like this?"  
  
Severus hit James' hand off his shoulder. "DON'T DO THAT!" he screamed. "Don't come acting like my friend after all you've done and said to me! I know what you think of me, I know how repulsive I am to you! Don't pretend to be my friend!"  
  
James stared at him. "Repulsive? I never said..."  
  
"You don't have to say it..." Snape turned his face, deeply upset. "It doesn't even matter what world it is," he muttered. He shut his eyes briefly, then turned them on James. "You could never respect me enough to be a true friend, because I'm not as good as you are. Athletic James Potter...witty James Potter...wonderful, good James Potter..." Severus shook his head. "How could I ever measure up?"  
  
"Measure up?" James repeated. "Have you always thought this way? No one is trying to measure up to anyone else, this isn't some competition. We're both Gryffindors here, we're both friends. No one's trying to outdo each other, Severus. And I do respect you. You're....er...smart...and you help us with Potions class, remember?"  
  
Snape shook his head. "You could never be a true friend," he murmured, staring at his Slytherin scarf. "If I were a Slytherin...would you still be having this conversation with me? Hm? Would you still be trying to convince me how great our friendship is?"  
  
"Well...no, but you're not a Slytherin, so..."  
  
Severus threw his scarf aside to the floor. His black eyes gleamed, larger back then than in the future. "Then don't spout so much rubbish about friendship!" he spat. "True friends would be friends regardless of what House the other is in! You and your friends, the fabulous four, you just tolerate me because I'm a Gryffindor! If I was anything else, you'd destroy me, you'd treat me like an inhuman freak! Don't you dare deny it, because I KNOW IT'S TRUE! I've SEEN the way it would be! You're just a hypocrite!"  
  
"Severus, what has gotten into you?" James asked, perplexed. "You're not a Slytherin, so why are you worrying about it? Did you have some kind of nightmare?"  
  
"Oh no, this, this is the nightmare," Severus replied, holding his arms out. "All this! The illusion that I could be a Gryffindor! I'm Slytherin to the core, Potter! And I meant it when I said I hate you."  
  
Just then, the door to the room opened. A cute boy with shining black hair and a mischievous glint in his eyes burst in. Snape's eyes narrowed into scornful slits. The last person he wanted to see right now was Sirius Black.  
  
"James, Quidditch practice!" Sirius announced. He strode briskly past Snape and put an arm around his buddy. "It starts with forgetting practice you know, and before you know it, you've forgotten what a Snitch even looks like! Jeez, I finally wake up early enough to get onto the field and watch, and you're not even there!" Sirius turned to Snape. "Were you actually sleeping in for once? Heh. No wonder you look so grumpy, must be terrible for such a dark-souled person to awake to such gorgeous sunshine, eh?"  
  
Snape's lips thinned into a line. "At least I don't fumble around and barge in late everywhere, Black."  
  
"It's called 'making an entrance' or 'being fashionably late'," Sirius replied. He dragged James out. "But it can get out of hand! Come on, James!"  
  
"Coming!" James turned to Severus. "Aren't you coming? Or are you feeling ill?"  
  
Snape hesitated. This wasn't his world, so where he went didn't matter. Besides, he hated James' showing off on the Quidditch field. He really should have stayed put, but...he was a little curious to see the inner world of the 'fabulous four'.  
  
"I'm coming."  
  
*  
  
"Draco, what would your father say about this?"  
  
As Snape was twisting and turning in his sleep, reliving the past, Draco and Harry were holed up alone in the tunnel behind the one-eyed witch statue. Since they both owned Invisibility Cloaks, it was easy to meet like this more often than before. Tonight, they had the entire night to themselves. This was good, since Draco hungered for more than kisses now.  
  
"My father?" Draco repeated, silver eyes growing to the size of golf balls. He laughed a nervous, high laugh. "Ha! My father would murder me!"  
  
"Really? He wouldn't understand?"  
  
Draco rolled onto Harry's chest and lay on him like a kitten. Harry was sitting up against the wall, his glasses crooked and his face smudged with dirt from the ground. They'd been in the tunnel for a long time now. He stroked Draco's silky blond hair absently as the youth lay on his lap.  
  
"You know how Slytherins and Gryffindors are," Draco said lazily. "Would your father understand?"  
  
"That's not fair, Draco." Harry shook his head. "Fine, I get it, we'll leave the adults out of this. We'll leave everyone out of this, actually. Okay?"  
  
"Perfect." Draco sat up in front of Harry and kissed him. "Mmmm....this is our dirty little secret."  
  
"How come you came to terms with this so quickly?" Harry asked suddenly. "I've been agonizing over it since Christmas."  
  
"I don't know why. I simply...enjoy it too much to fight it, I suppose." Draco's cool, ghostly fingers slid up Harry's neck and then down his chest. He pressed his thin body close to Harry's, and his lips danced over his bare skin. He was a very naughty boy, Draco Malfoy was.  
  
Harry shivered. Though it was highly erotic, he still wasn't used to Draco's chilling touch. He sat helpless against the wall as Malfoy practically slithered over him, wrapping his long, fair body around him. Harry found it amazing that even in bed a Slytherin was a Slytherin, snake-like and devilish. Draco's silvery hair shimmered in the dim light, and his skin glistened with sweat. The whole thing was like some beautiful, horrible nightmare.  
  
"What's the matter?" Draco asked, lifting his face after kissing Harry's lower chest. "You're so flushed..."  
  
Harry pushed Draco down onto his back and sat over him. He began kissing and holding him, fierce. Try as he might, Harry could no longer feel that this was wrong. He knew it was wrong, but he felt that it was right. By now, after sleeping together twice, Harry had decided to simply take life as it came, and stop worrying about it. It felt too good to give up for the sake of rivalry. Besides, they could still be rivals, rivals by day and lovers by night. Perhaps it wasn't the most conventional way affair, but then again nothing in Harry's life had ever been conventional. But that was what made it so special, the unusual things within it. After all, would he really want to trade his bizarre life for a normal, Muggle one? Of course not. He wouldn't be Harry Potter if he didn't want more than the ordinary.  
  
End of Chapter Six 


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: Love and Reality  
  
The next day, Gryffindor and Slytherin had double Potions class early. Since he hadn't gotten much sleep the last night, Draco had dozed off in an empty corner of the hall after stopping to tie his shoe. He awoke to find that he was late for class. Cursing Harry for having so much, er, stamina, he flew down the hall.  
  
However, as he strolled through the empty halls, he heard something. He stopped and listened. Someone was talking nearby. As nosy as always, Draco followed the voice. It was coming from...Snape's office. Draco approached the door. The talking had stopped. Wondering if Snape had forgotten that he had a class to teach, Draco knocked on the door. No reply. Draco hesitated for a long moment, then slowly opened the door and peered inside.  
  
Snape was sitting on an armchair, staring into the empty fireplace. "Shouldn't have left," he was muttering to himself, "never should have left. Friends...illusion or not...what friends do I have in reality? Stupid, stupid...I am...so weak..."  
  
Draco approached him slowly. "Professor Snape?"  
  
Snape looked at him weakly. He looked horrible. His eyes were red and bloodshot and swollen, and his face seemed to be thinner and sunken in at the cheeks. His pallor had worsened, giving his skin a strange, sour look. Draco became deeply worried. Snape looked like he was dying.  
  
"Are you okay, Professor?" Draco asked. He felt guilty. It was his fault for accidentally pouring Nightmare Potion into a container labeled 'Sleeping Potion'.  
  
"Malfoy..." Snape recognized him and sank back into reality. "Class is cancelled today. Go, leave me. You shouldn't...see me...like this. The Nightmare Potion is horrible...I can't control...my own mind..."  
  
"But why is it affecting you so strongly?" Draco asked. "You look...like you're dying."  
  
"Nightmare Potion is a parasite of the soul, it feeds on negative emotions," Snape explained. His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't drank anything for weeks. "I've had a bad life...the memories...So much pain, so much anger back then...everyone...always...laughing, laughing at me...Never, never good enough..."  
  
It was depressing to see his favorite Professor looking so hopelessly pathetic. "That was all years ago," he told him. "It's been over twenty years..."  
  
"Every time....that face..." Snape was referring to Harry. "That face...laughing...getting away with everything....No one cares...and him...still...still...so popular...star...." Snape shook his head deliriously. "Laughing..."  
  
Suddenly, Dumbledore stepped beside Draco. Draco jumped, startled.  
  
"Ah, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore greeted him. "You can inform the class outside Potions that class will be cancelled today."  
  
Draco nodded. "Yes..." His silver eyes slid to Snape. "Professor Dumbledore, is he going to be okay? He looks awful."  
  
"Alas, he is being done in by his own jealousy," Dumbledore sighed. "He isn't in mortal danger, but the Nightmare Potion is affecting him more strongly than I anticipated. You see, there is so much anger and hatred and, yes, even sorrow in his heart that the Nightmare Potion is thriving within his veins."  
  
"Ensnaring the soul..." Snape muttered.  
  
"Right you are, Severus," Dumbledore agreed softly. "His soul is entangled in the web of hatred that he himself started spinning years ago. On his own, he is a strong man, and able to suppress most of his sorrow. However, the Nightmare Potion destroys rationality and amplifies the pain of the soul. His mind keeps wandering from past to present, and he won't be able to find any comfort in either. Not until he has relived all the pain of the past will he be able to break the spell of the Nightmare Potion. The good thing about it is, once it's over, he'll be a stronger person."  
  
"If he survives," Draco added, eyeing Snape's mask-like face.  
  
"He should never have made a Nightmare Potion," Dumbledore sighed. "Severus has always been determined to create at least one of every potion in the world, he loves his craft. However, the Nightmare Potion is illegal, and restricted to Azkaban alone. Imagine...something powerful enough to be used as a punishment in Azkaban..."  
  
"Never did catch Sirius Black..." Snape muttered. "Should have been executed...that damn Potter....Dumbledore covered it up, of course...stupid old fool..."  
  
Dumbledore twitched, but ignored the comment. "He isn't in his right mind," he told Draco. "I'm going to perform a Sleeping Charm on him."  
  
"But won't that just put him in a world of nightmares?" Draco asked.  
  
"Yes, but the more he faces them, the weaker the effects of the potion will be," Dumbledore explained. He already had his wand in his hand.  
  
"No!" Snape suddenly shouted, regaining his grip on reality. He jumped up from the chair and faced Dumbledore. "No, I don't want to sleep. I'll wait it out. Please, stop humiliating me by coming in here. Leave me alone until the effects wear off."  
  
"Many a witch and wizard have gone mad permanently after drinking that potion," Dumbledore explained. "I'm sorry, Severus, but I must have you back to normal as quickly as possible."  
  
"But...those nightmares..." he protested weakly.  
  
"The sooner they're over, the better." Dumbledore waved his wand and shouted the sleeping charm.  
  
"But..."  
  
Snape had no more time to protest, for everything had already gone dark.  
  
*  
  
"How did we become friends?"  
  
Sitting beneath a tree next to Remus and Peter Pettigrew, young Severus asked the question with an anxious tone. He knew that in this opposite world, he was friends with James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. But he didn't know how reality had split and gone so horribly wrong.  
  
"Well..." cute Remus said thoughtfully. "Remember when Sirius Black tormented you on our first day? You two bumped into each other on the train, and you told him to watch it, and he insulted you?"  
  
Severus nodded. So, that was something both worlds had in common.  
  
"None of us thought anything about it, we just...laughed," Remus said, sounding a little guilty. "But then you started yelling and fighting with Sirius, and James saw how upset you were, and he felt a little bad."  
  
That was it, Snape realized. In reality, he hadn't gotten upset, he had played it cool and walked off. So, in that moment, when he was trying to decide whether to argue or not, and holding back tears and fury, reality had split into two worlds. In his own world, Snape hadn't crumbled, so no one had felt guilty over insulting him. However, in this world, he had shown his true feelings, with all the immaturity of any eleven-year-old. Severus stared at his hands sullenly. To think that he could have changed every single dynamic of his life simply by acting weak.  
  
"Anyway, James stopped the fight between you and Sirius," Remus went on. "Then, he talked to you, and you became friends. I suppose you were put in Gryffindor with us because you and James were already friends."  
  
"Pity..."  
  
"What?"  
  
Severus turned his face towards Remus'. "James has always pitied me, hasn't he?" he asked venomously. "Poor, ugly Severus...poor untalented Severus...He isn't my friend, he just pities me."  
  
"Pity isn't a bad thing," Remus said quietly. "James and Sirius and Peter are my friends, but they also pity me a little..."  
  
"Why would they pity you?" Severus asked suspiciously.  
  
"Oh, you know why, Severus!" Peter snapped. "You don't have to rub his nose in it..."  
  
"They pity me..." Remus said slowly, "because I am..."  
  
Just then, a Bludger flew at them and nearly hit Snape. He hit it aside, and it whacked little Peter on the face. Snape grinned evilly as the pudgy boy started crying and holding his nose. James and Sirius came running over.  
  
"Oops," said the guilty Sirius, "I didn't mean to, it just...Well..."  
  
"Oh Peter..." James said sympathetically. "Sirius, you take him to the hospital wing."  
  
"Sure." Sirius glanced at Snape, who he had been aiming for. "Nice block, Severus. Ever consider joining the team?" he said, his tone highly cynical.  
  
"Flying in circles trying to catch a ball doesn't appeal to me," Severus said coolly. He smiled meanly. "It was a nice block, though, wasn't it?"  
  
Sirius made a small, derisive noise.  
  
"Careful now, Black," Severus said, "you wouldn't want anyone to think you were aiming for me, would you? I mean...you weren't aiming for me...were you?"  
  
"Course not," Sirius said, too quick and too sincere for it to be the truth. He scowled briefly, and began pulling Peter off to the hospital wing without another word.  
  
Severus exhaled. The hatred that he and Sirius shared was so strong that it transcended the dimensions.  
  
"Poor Peter," James said mournfully. "I think that's enough practice for today."  
  
The three headed inside for breakfast, Remus, James, and Severus.  
  
"Are you feeling better now, Severus?" James asked as they tracked across the yard.  
  
Severus looked at him. "I guess," he said slowly, lowering his gaze. He really felt dizzy, dizzy and tired from it all. His head was spinning. He didn't know how to get back to his world, and he didn't know what to do in this one. It was hard to get used to being friends with these people...who had spent the better part of their years at school making fun of him. Any confidence he might have had had been destroyed by this very group.  
  
At breakfast, Severus didn't eat. He buried his face in his arms, ignoring everything and everyone around him. He could hear Remus and James talking in hushed voices about him.  
  
"James, is he well?" Remus asked. "He didn't even eat."  
  
"He woke up like that, acting rather...mad," James explained. "He was going on about how we would hate him if he were in Slytherin and how he hated me. He must have had a horrible dream or something."  
  
"Oh...I know how it is to have awful nights myself."  
  
Then they went on to talk about classes and such ("Professor Trelawney? Someone should fly her to the moon..." "I bet she plays among the stars...or at least, she thinks she does"). Snape tuned them out and lost himself in thought. They did seem sincere...Maybe it wouldn't be too bad, living in this world until he found a way out...He'd never had friends before...  
  
Severus' thoughts were broken by a sudden light punch on the top of his head. He looked up to see Sirius Black sitting beside him. Peter Pettigrew was also joining them for breakfast. Severus sat up straight, eyeing Sirius warily.  
  
"What's up with you?" Sirius asked. Seeing that Snape wasn't eating, he snatched some of his food. "Why aren't you eating? Some kind of diet? Lose any more weight, and you'll look like a dementor."  
  
Snape tensed. "I'm not dieting, Black," he replied, "and I don't look like a dementor."  
  
"I'm only joking," Sirius said lazily. "My name may be Sirius, but you're the serious one. Can't ever take a joke..."  
  
"Your jokes aren't funny," Snape replied. "And I find your grades much funnier than my face."  
  
Sirius turned red. "Well, the joke's on you because at least I'm charming!" he declared haughtily.  
  
"Charming and brainless."  
  
Sirius jumped to his feet. "Hey, what's wrong with you?" he asked angrily. "I agreed not to insult you, but that doesn't mean I'll let you pick on me!"  
  
Snape also got to his feet. "You can dish it out, but you can't take it, can you? Remember Sirius, they're only words."  
  
"You ugly little..."  
  
James finally intervened. "Hey, hey, sit down you two!" he told them. "McGonagall is watching!"  
  
They sat, still glaring daggers at each other.  
  
"I'm not sensitive," Sirius said, running a hand through his lanky black hair. "You were the one who cried when I called you ugly on the train back then."  
  
"I was eleven!"  
  
"You were crying!"  
  
"Enough!" James exclaimed. "Sirius, Severus has been a bit...ill today. He isn't himself."  
  
"Oh, I'm myself," Severus spoke up.  
  
"Your slimy self," Sirius added.  
  
"Bastard!"  
  
James stood up then, lifting Severus to his feet. "Severus, we must have a word."  
  
Before he could protest, James had dragged him out of the Grand Hall. He told McGonagall that Snape was sick and he was helping him to the hospital wing. Snape snorted in protest, but McGonagall mistook it for a sneeze and let them go. James stopped in an empty hall near the hospital and cornered Snape. Snape was defensive and ready to fight.  
  
"Severus, why are you doing this?" James asked. "We're your friends, why are you distancing yourself like this? You're so hostile..."  
  
"You'd be hostile too, if you were a Slytherin that wound up in Gryffindor!" Snape said vehemently. He pulled out his wand. "I've always wanted to be in Slytherin! I know more charms and potions than ANY of you!"  
  
James put a hand over Snape's wand hand. "I thought you gave up all that Dark Arts stuff after you joined Gryffindor," he said softly. "Or had this entire time been an act? You may be stuck in Gryffindor, but you don't have to be 'stuck' with us. If you truly want to end the friendship and take the Dark Arts back up...then tell me now."  
  
Snape felt his soul being ripped in half. How could he pretend to be friends with these scum? They'd been rivals for ages. He hated them. Then again...if he was a Gryffindor, it was unlikely that his Slytherin group of friends would accept him in this world. Besides, it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get a taste of what it was like to be a Gryffindor. This wasn't reality, after all, and he had to have something to do until he found out how to get back. Snape frowned deeply. That's right, it didn't matter because it wasn't real...  
  
"No..." Snape said weakly. His eyes glinted as they dug into James'. "I just had a nightmare, that's all. I haven't been feeling too well today."  
  
James smiled slowly. "Well...I hope you're better now."  
  
But then James put a hand on Severus' shoulder, and Severus felt a sudden rush of fresh fury. Eyes going wild, he hit James' hand off quickly and gave him a murderous look. James looked bewildered. Severus knew it wasn't real, he knew this was opposite reality....but still....Every time he saw James' face, he pictured him laughing at him, showing off, being the star....golden, untouchable James Potter....who was only his friend out of pity....  
  
From somewhere in Snape's mind he heard words, soft, truthful words.  
  
'At least he pitied you...after you acted so snobby...And weren't you the one trying to show off back then, even before Potter joined the Quidditch Team? Besides...who else would pity a dark-souled little freak like you were?'  
  
Snape held his head in his hands, scrunching his eyes shut. His head began to ache. Another voice, cold and high, spoke in his mind.  
  
'Pity....that is an insult...Why should he pity you? Just because you can't play Quidditch? You're the smarter one, aren't you? You're the one who will one day live...and he's the one who will one day die...You are the wielder of the Dark Arts...Pity you? You should pity him!  
  
"I'm not..." Severus groaned. "I'm not...better..."  
  
James' shouts echoed around him, but he couldn't hear. The hall was fading out of view, growing fuzzier and fuzzier....Snape fell himself fall forward, straight into James' arms. Then, everything went black.  
  
End of Chapter Seven 


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight: Being Scouted  
  
"Voldemort!"  
  
The words flew from Snape's mouth as he escaped the world of nightmares and woke up in reality. Dumbledore, who had just entered the office to check on him, froze in his tracks. His expression hardened and he rushed over to Snape, who was sitting in his armchair.  
  
"What about Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked seriously.  
  
Snape was gripping the chair arms so tightly that his knuckles were white. His face was a ghastly pale shade, contrasting with his oily black hair. His eyes were searching the empty fireplace rapidly, and then he looked at Dumbledore. His expression calmed.  
  
"I'd never thought about it until now," he explained softly, "but I heard him. When I was in the inverted reality, I heard Voldemort speaking in my mind. He was trying to prevent me from befriending James Potter."  
  
Dumbledore's face melted back into its usual appearance. "Well, I can see why," he said quietly. "Voldemort had been scouting you for years, hadn't he? You were always a bright boy, and inclined towards the Dark Arts. He must have been planning to recruit you for years."  
  
Snape lowered his gaze. "I was a child," he said, his voice etched with a quiet fury, "he was scouting a child. He was there, even back then, trying to harden my heart...making sure I didn't soften...watching..."  
  
"They were dark times," Dumbledore said as he stood, "for all of us."  
  
Snape looked at him. "Did I show such a strong inclination towards the Dark Arts back then?" he asked. "I know I've always been fascinated by it, but...How could Voldemort tell that I would one day serve him when I was so young?"  
  
Dumbledore shook his head. "Voldemort was scouting everyone back then, Severus, not just you. True, you did eventually turn to the Dark Side, but you came back. I strongly believe in second chances because of people like you, Severus, people who change. The road is not always easy, is it? Some people are forced to learn...the hard way."  
  
Snape stared into the dark fireplace.  
  
Dumbledore turned to him. "And I'm pleased to see that the Nightmare Potion is wearing off," he said cheerfully.  
  
"Another night or two," Snape exhaled. "Just another night or two..."  
  
"In the meantime, let's go to the Great Hall for dinner."  
  
Snape stood up weakly. Having slept all day, he was not about to argue about eating.  
  
*  
  
"What do you think is wrong with Professor Snape?"  
  
Harry and Draco finished eating dinner early, and sneaked out to take a walk around the lake outside. Harry was a bit distant, thinking about the walks he had taken around the lake with Hermione. He couldn't help noting that Draco was prettier than she was, though it made him feel bad to think something so mean. But it was true, now that Draco had abandoned his scowling disposition, he was really quite beautiful.  
  
"Harry, are you listening to me?" Draco asked.  
  
"Er..."  
  
"I asked you what you think is wrong with Professor Snape."  
  
The last thing Harry wanted to think about this beautiful evening was Snape. He shrugged nonchalantly. "I dunno."  
  
"You're distant again," Draco observed, displeased. He walked in front of Harry, forcing Harry to stop before him. "Still pondering our relationship, Potter? Because if you're still having doubts, I--"  
  
Before he could say another word, Harry put a hand around his waist, drew him close, and kissed him. Malfoy's words became pleased little 'mmm! mmm...'s. He felt Harry's hand gripping his waist, and then moving down over his bottom. Draco's face turned pink as Harry squeezed his bottom hard. Harry was rarely this aggressive...  
  
"Ah!" Draco gasped after the kiss, "my, you are getting used to this!" His silver eyes flashed with satisfaction. "Very intent today, aren't you?"  
  
"You're a horrible, annoying, self-indigenous brat," Harry hissed at him. However, there was no hatred in his eyes, just strictness.  
  
Draco only grinned. "I love it when you talk dirty."  
  
Harry squeezed his face in one hand, his fingers pressing against Draco's smooth, soft cheeks. "Why did you have to be a Slytherin?" he asked, almost challengingly. "Why are you so bad?"  
  
Draco's eyes actually saddened for a moment. "We're all what we're expected to be...aren't we?" he said softly.  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
Draco pulled out of his arms. "Never mind," he said hastily. "So, shall we sneak off somewhere to be alone?"  
  
"You didn't answer me, Malfoy." Harry grabbed him by the arm. "What did you mean by that? Do you act the way you do because of your parents?"  
  
Draco shuddered as he thought of his father, Lucius Malfoy. If he knew that Draco were running around with Harry Potter, he would...well...Draco shuddered again.  
  
Harry put his hands on Draco's shoulders, standing directly behind the youth. "Are you cold, Draco?" he asked in Draco's ear. "Or are you thinking about what your father would say about all this?"  
  
Draco turned to Harry and embraced him, burying his face in the Gryffindor scarf. "Don't talk about him," he said quietly. "Don't! I don't want to mention him."  
  
"He was a Death Eater, wasn't he?"  
  
Draco turned his face up to Harry. "But I'm not!" he said, his face strained. "I...I...I love you!"  
  
Harry's green eyes widened. He knew he had heard it, but he couldn't believe it. After all the fighting and insults and moments of pure hatred...  
  
Draco burst into tears uncontrollably. Every time he admitted his love for Harry, it made him feel stupid and weak and depressed. He buried his face in Harry's scarf again, sniveling childishly. He glimpsed at the scarves of the two houses, Gryffindor and Slytherin, bundled up against each other. It was a surreal sight, creepy and unnatural but pleasing. Draco sniffed.  
  
"...But do you love me on your own," Harry asked slowly, "or because of the Mirror of Adversities?"  
  
Draco looked up at him in horror. "What! How dare you! Of course I love you on my own! Why do you think I wanted you in Slytherin all those years back?" he blurted out. Realizing what he'd said, Draco covered his mouth with his hands. "Oh..."  
  
Harry raised his eyebrows. "Back then?"  
  
Draco lowered his face into Harry's shirt, sniffing again. "Yes..." he said weakly. "Of course, I was too young to know it was love, but I did...want to...get to know you." Draco held Harry tighter. "But when you joined Gryffindor and all...I was...scared. I was scared of my father...Had I befriended you back then and blurted it out to him, he..."  
  
"He'd what?" Harry asked, though not too concerned. He could only just picture an eleven-year-old Draco getting a caning from the stern Lucius Malfoy, and it wasn't too upsetting a sight.  
  
Draco shook his head. "Never mind. I don't want to talk about my family...the Dark Side and all..."  
  
The words pierced Harry's heart and mind like a dagger. They echoed in his mind. His eyes blanked out as he stared at Draco, and his expression froze. The Dark Side! Of course! When the curse had backfired from him to Voldemort, it had linked them, and Harry had recieved some Dark powers. This link was what confused the Sorting Hat to almost place him in Slytherin. Perhaps...it was this link that gave him the attraction to Draco, this small dark part of his heart...  
  
"What's wrong?" asked Draco.  
  
Harry slid a hand over his forehead slowly. The Dark Side...Slytherin...Draco Malfoy...it all made sense...  
  
Draco leaned his face up and kissed Harry's scar. It made his forehead feel a cool, tingling sensation he'd never experienced before. Harry felt weak in the knee. He had chosen not to join Slytherin, and Dumbledore had told him once that it wasn't the similarities in life that were important, but the choices one makes. Should he choose...not to be with Draco?  
  
Harry pulled out of Draco's embrace, staring at the boy as if he were something foul and hideous. He began to move away, towards the castle.  
  
"Harry...what's wrong?" Draco asked, perplexed. "Harry?"  
  
Harry turned from and him and ran off. What if being with Malfoy was exactly what Voldemort wanted? What if being Malfoy's lover was the beginning of a descent into the cursed Dark Side? Harry ran, ignoring Draco's echoing cries behind him.  
  
"Harry! Harry! Don't...don't leave me, Harry!"  
  
End of Chapter Eight 


	10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine: Dark and Light  
  
That night, the fall into the nightmare world was more hellish for Snape. Desperate to stay awake, he had drank a wake-up potion. The Nightmare Potion and Wake-Up Potion hadn't mixed well, and was soon more ill than ever. He fell in and out of various nightmares before finally returning to the real one.  
  
This time, the descent into sleep was colder, more painful. He was falling...feeling not light but heavy, like a sinking rock...and now instead of laughing, he could hear Voldemort's voice echoing in the dark space...and then...he was back in the dream world of opposite reality...  
  
Thirteen-year-old Severus Snape opened his eyes to find himself staring at a blurred face. He blinked and squinted. The face slowly came into focus. It was...Albus Dumbledore.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore..." young Severus mumbled groggily. "I had a dream...that I fell into the Mirror of Adversities...and that I was a Gryffindor..."  
  
Dumbledore's face was serious. "I'm afraid that was no dream, Severus," he said quietly. "You are a Gryffindor...at least, in this world."  
  
Snape's black eyes widened. "What?" he asked hoarsely.  
  
Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. "You are in opposite reality, aren't you?" he asked slowly. "You are from a different world, in which you are a Slytherin, and you found the Mirror of Adversities?"  
  
Snape sat up in bed. He was getting a sinking feeling that he was in trouble. Even worse, he was still in the opposite reality where James Potter was his friend. His lips tightened for a moment, then he told the inverse Dumbledore all about what had happened.  
  
"I see." Dumbledore paused for a moment. "That mirror is strictly off limits to students, you never should have even looked into it. You've violated school rules and toyed around with a very dangerous magical object, Mr. Snape."  
  
Snape grinned suddenly. "Well, I'm in Gryffindor, right?" he asked eagerly. "I'm not ashamed of what I did, feel free to take as many points from my house as you like."  
  
Dumbledore's strict look turned his grin into a worried look. He bowed his head.  
  
"This is not something to be taken lightly, Severus," Dumbledore said sternly. "You faced an unknown object and said a spell which you had no idea of the meaning. You could have killed yourself, do you realize that?"  
  
Severus lowered his head. Dumbledore had never scolded anyone so harshly before. "Yes," he said softly. "I understand."  
  
"What you did was foolish and reckless," Dumbledore went on, though there was a glint of pity in his eyes. "No student, in fact no wizard or witch of any age should chant an incantation without knowing exactly what spell it is and what it is used for. Horrible things have come out of simple curiosity in the magic world. As someone who studies the Dark Arts so closely, I'm surprised you didn't know this. You are a very bright boy, Severus. I never expected you to do something so dangerous."  
  
Feeling like a reprimanded child (which he was, really), Snape lowered his head. His face turned red. "I'm sorry."  
  
Dumbledore exhaled. "Of course, I can't punish you, can I? After all, you are not my student if you are from another world."  
  
Snape glanced at him and actually caught a twinkle in his eyes. He felt a little better.  
  
"Well, I suppose I should tell you how to get home?" Dumbledore said, more cheerful now. "You already know where the Mirror is stored, I take it. However, if you try to enter that chamber, you will be locked out unless your desire to go home is genuine."  
  
"You mean...I'm stuck here unless I really want to go home?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Snape thought about it. Did he really want to go home now? This was the perfect opportunity to spy on the fabulous four, perhaps he should take advantage. Besides...he felt stupid admitting, but...he was a little curious about what it would feel like to be friends with...  
  
"You aren't sure, are you?" asked Dumbledore. He nodded. "Take as much time as you like, Severus. If anything good comes of discovering opposite reality, it's a good dose of self-discovery."  
  
Dumbledore left him, and Severus flopped down onto his pillow. He exhaled, black hair falling over his face. The ordeal was turning into a nightmare. He wondered if anyone back in his own world would miss him. Probably not. At most, one of his friends might wonder about why he was gone, but not too much. Sirius Black was probably celebrating by now...  
  
Just then, James Potter popped up at Severus' bedside. He actually looked concerned. Snape just stared at him with no expression on his face whatsoever.  
  
"I was worried when you fainted like that," James said slowly. "You've never passed out before, not once."  
  
Severus didn't reply. James handed him a Chocolate Frog.  
  
"Here, it's my last one. You didn't eat dinner, that's probably why you're so grumpy."  
  
"I'm always grumpy," Severus replied, eyeing the candy as if it were poisoned.  
  
"You're extra-grumpy today. Here."  
  
Severus hesitantly took the chocolate frog. The moment he touched it, it turned into a real frog. James burst into laughter and Snape dropped it instantly. Just then, Madam Pomfry approached. The frog jumped at her, causing her to send her tray of medical potions flying. Severus and James watched her slip and stumble through the spilled potions, trying to catch the frog and complaining all the way. The two boys began to laugh. Severus laughed, for once, not a mean or forced laugh, but simply out of amusement. He didn't even realize that James had flung an arm around his shoulder, nor did he shake it off. James grinned at him, and he grinned back. In that moment, for a split second, Severus felt that they were truly friends. His grin faded and he stared at James seriously. Their gaze locked.  
  
In that moment, Snape had felt closer to James than anyone else. It was like they were friends, and had been for years. All his hatred was fading quickly. The feeling scared the young Slytherin. He grabbed James by the collar.  
  
"Quick! Tell me I'm ugly!" he said desperately.  
  
"W-what?"  
  
All his reasons for hating James were vanishing rapidly. Snape was desperate. "Tell me I'm ugly!"  
  
"You're...you're not ugly."  
  
"How would you describe my face?"  
  
"Ummm...offbeat cuteness?"  
  
"My nose is..."  
  
"I've seen bigger."  
  
Snape dropped him. James fell clear off the bed and onto the floor.  
  
"We...we really are friends," Severus muttered, eyes fearful. He looked down at James, who had landed upside down on the floor. "We really are friends!" he cried in horror.  
  
James looked up at him through crooked glasses. "That's what I've been trying to tell you!" he exclaimed, a bit exasperated.  
  
Snape jumped out of bed, nearly trampling James ("Hey! Watch it!") He tore off his Gryffindor scarf and straightened his cloak.  
  
"I have to go," he said quietly. "This is too much."  
  
James stood up. "Go where?"  
  
Severus looked at him. "...Potter...if we had been friends, we really would have been friends. But we're not, so I won't fool myself."  
  
James put a hand on Severus' shoulder. "But Severus...I...we...we've been through two and a half years together! We really are friends..."  
  
Though he didn't have the faintest idea why, those words made Snape's heart feel a little heavy. He turned his face. "For some reason," he said softly, "I don't doubt that."  
  
Snape turned and walked off before James could say anything else. He ignored James' calls and didn't even look back.  
  
"Severus! Don't be that way! Severus!"  
  
*  
  
Soon, Severus was standing before the Mirror of Adversities once again. Upon glancing at his reflection, he noticed that there were tears in his eyes. He shook them away as he pulled out his wand.  
  
"If I don't go back now, I won't go back at all," he muttered. He waved his wand. "Inversera Universum!"  
  
The Mirror was still. Snape's eyes widened. He repeated the words once, and then twice. Nothing. All was silent. Then, Snape recalled Dumbledore's words. Perhaps he didn't want to go home.  
  
Snape scowled. "Don't be ridiculous!" he shouted at the mirror. "Of course I want to go back! James Potter and I, friends? It's disgusting!"  
  
The reflection in the mirror changed. It suddenly showed the moment where James and Severus had met each other's gaze in the hospital wing. Severus fell to his knees.  
  
"I know...it is tempting..." he murmured. His face hardened. "But no matter how good it feels, it isn't real!" He looked at the mirror with cold eyes. "No matter how I feel about my life, I'm not desperate enough to lock myself in some alternate reality fantasy! I'M STRONGER THAN THAT!"  
  
The reflection began to swirl. Clutching his wand, Severus faced the mirror. "I'm not so weak that I'd run from reality," he told the mirror stubbornly. "I'd rather pursue vengeance than a dream of friendship. I usually don't believe in fate or rubbish like that...but if anything is meant to be, it's my rivalry with James Potter! Inversera Universum!"  
  
The mirror flashed. From somewhere, a wind was blowing and howling like a moaning ghost.  
  
"Perhaps we could have been friends," Severus murmured, "great friends. But that is a dream fated to be locked in a different reality. If I were so weak that I'd remain in a fantasy, what would I be? I am not a coward. I don't care how painful it is, I'll face reality and have my revenge on those idiots! Inversera Universum!"  
  
In life, it is the choices we make that matter most.  
  
"INVERSERA UNIVERSUM!!!"  
  
There was a blinding flash. For a brief moment, Severus caught a glimpse of something on the Mirror's surface. It was a strange symbol, like a skull with a snake in its mouth. But then it was gone, and everything went dark.  
  
End of Chapter Nine 


	11. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten: Choices  
  
"In the end, I chose revenge and jealousy. And it took me down the path of the Death Eaters. I suppose that if I'd remained in alternate reality longer, my heart would have softened and eventually forgiven James Potter. I would have returned to reality a changed boy, perhaps a better person. But my heart was too blackened by the things I perceived to be (and were) injustices. You can only push a person so far, you know, before their hatred engulfs them forever."  
  
By the next morning, the effects of the Nightmare Potion had worn off completely. After breakfast, Dumbledore had pulled Snape outside to make sure he was well enough to teach again. As the two wizards strolled through the courtyard, Snape explained his foul mood and all about the Mirror of Adversities.  
  
"Do you regret leaving opposite reality so quickly?" Dumbledore asked curiously.  
  
"I know I should tell you 'yes,' Snape said slowly, "but I am not a man who regrets his decisions, no matter where they led. I am aware that I took a harder path in life, and that I suffered dearly for it, but I cannot regret anything I did." His face soured for a moment. "Though...that pride and jealousy in my heart is what Voldemort used to corrupt me and seduce me into joining his repulsive league."  
  
"Well, no matter what path you chose to get there, you did change, Severus," Dumbledore told him. "That is what matters, isn't it?"  
  
"I suppose."  
  
"The way Mr. Malfoy seems to be changing," Dumbledore went on. "Have you noticed a change in his attitude as of late, Severus? Or are my old eyes deceiving me?"  
  
Snape scowled. "Yes...he is changing," he said. "It's quite...unnerving."  
  
Dumbledore only laughed. "It seems that soon your army against the Potters will consist of only one member....yourself."  
  
Snape drew a breath and his face twisted into a worse scowl. Dumbledore only laughed.  
  
*  
  
Harry and Draco didn't say one word to each other all day. Harry was amazed to find that he missed Draco so much, from his pointy face to his chilling touch. He even missed arguing with him, amazingly. He also felt the smallest pang of guilt for having run off so suddenly the other day. Draco was hurt and confused, and it showed in his silver eyes. The usually bigmouthed youth barely said two words through the entire day.  
  
The evening was swept by a fierce storm. The black sky spewed wild raindrops at the speed of light. Thunder roared and crashed restlessly. Lightning illuminated the land briefly and then vanished. It was depressing weather. During dinner, Harry noticed most of the first years staring at the ceiling in the Grand Hall, fascinated by the way it looked exactly like the sky outside. He smiled.  
  
Suddenly, as they all shuffled into the hall, Draco bumped into him. He looked at him, but Draco just trudged off. Then, Harry felt something in his hand. He looked down. There was a small piece of parchment in his hand, a note. It read: 'Meet me in ten minutes in the hall.'  
  
Harry folded it and put it in his pocket. So, Draco wanted to talk. Harry knew he should explain how he felt, but he would feel a little stupid. After all, Voldemort was gone, it would be silly to voice his fear of him now. How could he explain that loving Draco could be the beginning of a fall into darkness? He himself wasn't even sure this was true.  
  
Were his fears even sensible? He had fallen in love with (and even made love to) Draco, and nothing had happened. It wasn't as if his mind was becoming dark and twisted. He wasn't being asked to trust Draco with his life. He was still Harry.  
  
Then again, Voldemort had transferred an inclination towards the Dark Arts onto him. Choices were the most important thing, but what if choosing to be with Draco was the wrong choice? Harry could feel that this was one of those points in life where reality split. Which reality should he pursue?  
  
Ten minutes passed too quickly. Harry noticed Draco slip out of his place at the Slytherin table and sneak into the hall. He gripped his fork. Hermione and Ron were talking intimately, they wouldn't notice him leave. Harry looked at them, his real friends. Then, he glanced over at Draco exiting the hall. Suddenly, the Slytherin banners and Gryffindor banners hung in the hall became all too clear. Choices...  
  
Harry exhaled. Well, in any case, he should talk to Draco. Maybe seeing his scowling face would help him hate him again.  
  
But Draco wasn't scowling. Upon seeing Harry face to face for the first time since yesterday, his eyes grew soft. Harry could almost feel him struggling to remain calm and cool.  
  
"So, Potter," he drawled, his drawl slower than usual. "I suppose you've gone back to debating the pros and cons of our relationship?"  
  
"Draco, it's just...it's hard to accept," Harry said wearily. "My parents were killed by Voldemort, your father is a Death Eater."  
  
"Was a Death Eater," Draco corrected him tensely. He ran a hand through his silvery hair. "Not that it matters. I'm through being my parents' puppet. Besides, I'm not a Death Eater."  
  
Harry touched the side of Draco's face. It still warmed his face to touch him. "Draco, when...that night...when Voldemort killed my parents," he began slowly. "In that moment where his curse reflected off of me and hit him, we connected. I hate being connected to...to him, but we are connected. I am a Parseltongue, like he is. My wand is the same type his is. You see? We share a few similarities because of that moment."  
  
Draco looked horrified. "What are you saying?" he asked shrilly. "You think your attraction to me is the result of some...some feeble link with Voldemort?"  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
"How dare you insult what we have like that!" Draco yelled. His eyes shook with anger and hurt feelings. "Is that all you think of it? After....after we...and I...and...that's all you can say about it? Do you despise me that much, Potter?"  
  
"You're the one who's always despised me, Malfoy! That's why this...relationship...can't be anything else! It makes no sense!"  
  
"Maybe not to you, but it does to me!"  
  
With that, Draco turned and ran off. Harry stared, then went after him. Draco ran out of the school, into the storm outside. Harry followed him until they reached the lake.  
  
"Malfoy! It's freezing out here!" Harry called angrily through the pouring rain. "Are you mad?"  
  
"Mad? Oh yes, I'm mad!" Draco retorted. "Any Malfoy, no, any Slytherin has to be mad, according to Harry Potter! We're all too mad and too evil for him! He demands perfection before falling in love!"  
  
Harry caught up to Draco and grabbed him by the shoulders. He turned Draco around to look at him. "It doesn't have to be perfect, but at least let it be normal!" he said wearily. "This isn't normal! I don't know why I feel like this, I think I should sort my feelings out before going any further."  
  
"Excuses, Potter!" Draco spluttered, pale face dripping with rain. "You've been having doubts all along, and you finally found an excuse big enough to halt our affair! That's what this is about! You don't care about your connection to Voldemort, you don't care about sorting out your feelings, you're just ashamed to be in love with me!"  
  
"That..."  
  
"Don't you dare deny it!" Draco shouted. "You know it's true! Nothing else matters, just that famous Gryffindor Potter had the bad luck to fall in love with the vile Slytherin Draco! That's the real reason you ran off yesterday!"  
  
Harry tightened his grip on Draco's shoulders. "And what about you, Malfoy?" he asked. "Do you even care about this affair? Do you even care about anything? You keep throwing the word 'love' around as if we'd both agreed we were in love. But do you really love me? Do you, Draco Malfoy of Slytherin, truly love me, Harry Potter of Gryffindor?"  
  
"Yes!" Draco replied quickly. "Yes, I told you I did! Do you think I'd lie about something so embarrassing? You're the only one who won't admit it! You're more proud than I am!"  
  
"But can't you see that it's wrong?"  
  
"It isn't wrong, if it's love," Draco said weakly.  
  
Draco flung his arms around Harry's neck and held him close. Harry felt his anger fading, and the differences between 'right' and 'wrong' blurring. He stood there, with the soggy, pale Draco in his arms, beneath the falling rain. The edge of the lake was rapidly crashing near their feet, and lightning danced in the sky. Harry hugged Draco back, feeling the youth's silky wet hair against his face. Draco was shaking, either from shivering or crying.  
  
"As long as it's love," Harry echoed his words softly. He stared into the stormy sky, rain pelting his face. His green eyes close for a moment. He remembered riding the boat that brought him across that lake, all those years ago. He remembered mouthing off to Draco for the first time on the train. He remembered Draco being turned into a ferret that time, and smiled at the thought. Perhaps the hatred in both of them had finally burnt out. Perhaps it was time to start over in a sense.  
  
Draco was also recalling all the times Harry had stood up to him. He seemed to shrink against Harry's chest, overcome by fear. He'd lost Harry on the train that day, lost him to Gryffindor...  
  
"Don't let me loose you again, Harry," Draco pleaded quietly. "Not this time. Please...don't leave me alone again."  
  
"You're really a lonely little thing, aren't you Malfoy?" Harry asked. It was a good feeling to hear Draco pleading with him so pathetically. "You really want me with you?"  
  
"Yes...I do." His tone was so uncharacteristically feeble that it couldn't be a lie.  
  
Harry looked down at him. "Then...I won't choose wrong...and I won't choose right."  
  
Draco frowned quizzically. Harry pulled the thin blond into a wet, gentle kiss. Draco shuddered a little as their tongues met and thunder crashed. Harry pulled away with a tired but happy look on his face.  
  
"I choose love," he told Draco, "and I choose you. I'll stop debating, stop worrying...because this really does feel good. But you promise me that your love is genuine."  
  
"I promise." Draco smiled uncontrollably. He hugged Harry tightly. "I promise!"  
  
"Good," Harry exhaled. "Now let's get back inside before we die together out here. It's freezing."  
  
Draco nodded. He grinned. "But wouldn't it be romantic?" he mused, "for us to die of pneumonia out here after confessing our love?"  
  
"Don't start, Malfoy."  
  
Draco's laugh pierced the air. For once, it was a welcome sound. The two hurried back to the looming castle. Neither noticed that their scarves had blown off in the wind, and lay side by side before the lake. The Gryffindor and Slytherin scarves lay intertwined for now, but they'd be found by Snape later that night and torn apart again. It was just the way the houses were, connected at times and torn apart again...the spiral would never end, no matter what reality the story covers. At least in this reality, a small step had been taken forwards. The steps backwards to come didn't matter, at least Draco and Harry would have that one special little step, taken in the midst of a storm as tumultuous as that between the house of Slytherin and the house of Gryffindor.  
  
The End 


End file.
